


The Haunted

by Rainpebbles



Series: Mutant 'Verse [2]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Awkward Alec Lightwood, BAMF Isabelle Lightwood, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Good Parent Luke Garroway, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, M/M, Mutant Powers, Protective Jace Wayland, Protective Simon Lewis, Psychic Abilities, Series, Sibling Love, Slow Burn, Supportive Clary Fray, Supportive Magnus Bane, spanish speaking Lightwoods
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-07-23 06:56:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 44,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16153934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainpebbles/pseuds/Rainpebbles
Summary: Alec and his siblings try to settle in to their new home and learn what it means to trust others. Meanwhile, a secret is revealed that leads to a disastrous first mission for the newly formed team of mutants. With two of their own held captive by Valentine, the remaining team must find a way past their differences to rescue them.





	1. Jittery

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome back!!!! I am very excited to get this story going. There will be a little more fluff than the Power Within, but also more action, angst and drama too. Just starting lighthearted before I go for the throat. Really hope you all enjoy it, this was really fun to write.

“Are you sure that this is safe?”

Magnus playfully rolled his eyes at the taller man’s fourth time asking the same question. It was endearing, his protectiveness over his siblings that is, but the Psychic really did wish that he would relax a little. This was supposed to be fun!

Turning away from the clothes rack, Magnus placed a hand on Alec’s arm, squeezing it in reassurance.

“I promise that this is the safest way to shop for clothes that isn’t online,” he said as soothingly as he could.

Alec didn’t look that assured and kept shifting his weight from foot to foot, as if keeping himself ready to run at the drop of a hat.

“Well, why couldn’t we do this online then?” he asked, voice bordering on panicky.

Isabelle gasped in a mocking fashion as she and Clary emerged from the dressing room for the third time with even more clothes to add to the pile Alec was currently guarding for them, “Buy clothes online, Alec? Do you know how hard it is for a girl to find pants that fit right in person, let alone online?”

“People could see us, there are cameras everywhere,” he hissed out in a whisper.

“I worked in a mall for three years, no one ever noticed me there!”

“And no one will notice any of you now,” Clary said with confidence, “I’m multitasking. I’m looking for a new pair of boots and keeping up a glamour around all of us that makes us invisible to any non-mutants and to cameras for that matter.”

“So instead of some random people looking at clothes in a camera, now they’re going to see clothes and changing room doors moving randomly?” Jace snorted, coming up from behind them arms full of t-shirts, “I love messing with mundane people.”

Simon grunted from where he emerged holding a video game cartridge in his hand, “It really is funny. Once I saw an episode of Ghost Hunters that featured a time when Clary and I got in a fight at the bookstore and threw some paperbacks around. Comedy gold.”

“None of you are helping,” Alec growled.

Magnus squeezed his arm again, “Don’t worry. I’m also keeping a doppler radar out for any feelings of alarm that ghost sightings might trigger. If someone freaks out, I’ll know and we can leave immediately. Now, stop worrying about everyone and let’s focus on getting you and your siblings a respectable wardrobe.”

Finally relenting a little, Alec let Magnus guide him away from the mountain of fabric his sister was building and towards the men’s wear a few racks down. Magnus made sure that they remained at the racks close enough for Alec to keep his sister in earshot as well as in his line of sight. It would probably be the only way to keep him from walking off again. The shoe department had been a nightmare. The girls would sit on the floor to try on shoes, keeping them out of sight and Magnus kept turning around to see Alec walking off again to try and locate them. It had taken an hour longer than it should have and they ended up only getting him a pair of boots and sneakers. Magnus sighed, it was like trying the herd a frantic sheepdog who was trying to herd his blissfully ignorant sheep all at the same time.

He heard Jace and Simon follow behind them pushing the cart that was near overflowing.

“Jeez, Jace. Got enough leather there? If anyone from PETA were to see this we’d be tackled to the ground and splashed with red paint!” Simon grouched, digging through the pile with a wrinkle on his nose.

“Well, I need to make up for the week I’ve spent wearing your clothes! Those things may have been tight enough on me to show everything I have to offer, but I am so done with having to wear your star people shirts!”

“It’s Star Wars and they’re cool!”

Jace scoffed and moved up next to Alec, glancing at the hangars that he was un-enthusiastically shifting through, “You find anything yet?”

“I’ve still got some sweaters I can wear back at the house,” Alec mumbled, making Jace roll his eyes and Magnus to wince.

“Darling, money isn’t an issue if that’s what you’re worried about. You don’t have to sacrifice comfort or style anymore,” the Psychic offered gently.

“They’re comfy sweaters,” Alec protested weakly, but knew there was no way out of this fast unless he picked a few things.

It had been a week since the Lightwoods had made the decision to join the team and remain on Spiral Mountain, and it wasn’t long before Luke and the others realized just how little their new friends had after they continually found themselves needing to lend out their own clothes and items. So much of their stuff had been abandoned back at their dusty apartment room, next to their dirty mattress, but even all that probably would have been thrown in the garbage as soon as Magnus saw it. All they had at the moment were the few supplies they had stowed away in the shack and the borrowed things from the team.

Izzy wanted to work out each day, so she had to borrow Clary’s gym clothes. Jace had wanted to keep practicing his fire control and “accidentally” burned up a shirt and jeans Simon let him borrow. But it was the day that Alec hesitantly shuffled in to the kitchen at breakfast, head hung low and face bright red while he wore one of Magnus’ more sparkly bright green shirts that Luke decided he’d seen enough and sent all of them to the mall with the team credit card.

“Please, don’t come back until you find them everything they need. Alec looks like a damn Christmas tree and a very uncomfortable one at that,” he had said and shoved them into the van.

Alec blushed again at the horrifying memory of that morning. Not just because of how he looked, only Magnus could pull off a shirt like that, but because when he had knocked on Magnus’ door to ask for something to wear the Psychic had literally pulled the shirt off his back and gave it to a beet red Alec. It had been so much smooth skin to take in, and Alec couldn’t open his mouth to protest at the style of shirt. He just swallowed hard, squeaked out a thank you and ran back to his room to change.

The next hangar Alec shifted through he may have done with more force than necessary.

“How about this one?” Magnus held up a simple dark green sweater with a small v-neck up against Alec’s chest, checking the size.

“Um, I guess? Is there anything darker?”

Magnus blinked, “Darker than dark green?”

Alec slapped himself internally, “Nevermind, it’s fine.”

Magnus nodded and put it in the cart on top of Jace’s clothes, “Okay. I’ll grab a few in different colors. If you want something darker than dark green, I believe black may be the shade you’re seeking. I’ll be sure to grab one of those too.”

While Magnus felt bad for Alec’s obvious discomfort at where they were and what they were doing, it was still exhilarating for the Psychic to spend more time with the other man. Sure, in the last week they had some small interactions, they all had meals together, they all gathered each night in the common area, Alec had come a few times reluctantly asking for clothes, but there had been nothing else. Nothing like those deep conversations they had before, and certainly nothing like that moment when Magnus shared his emotional burden for the first time in his life.

That moment in the hangar was one Magnus was sure he would never forget. He had no idea what he was doing when he ran to the hangar, no plan whatsoever. In his mind he was still debating over a handshake or a hug, but in that last few feet to the door Magnus’ heart made its own decision for him.

He took the ocean of emotions that Magnus held for himself and his friends and sent a raging river of it to Alec who accepted it without any sort of hesitance. Alec felt everything that he and the others were brimming with at that time. Alec felt their sorrow at the death of an old friend and the departure of new friends. He felt their longing for a kind of companionship that they all lacked. He felt the loneliness that each carried in their own way. And he felt the hope that the Lightwoods had given to each of them. Mostly though, Magnus shared his own hope that Alec may be that someone he’d decided long ago didn’t exist.

Alec may not have known what it was that Magnus was saying without words, but he had still fulfilled his wish. Alec had chosen to stay.

Things had been a little awkward since then. Alec was a bit overwhelmed by suddenly finding himself in a whole new life, not to mention the intimacy he was faced with when Magnus made that connection with him. It was admittedly a lot to take in, and Magnus could feel that Alec had no ill feelings towards any of it or them. He was just processing in that special Alexander way. Slow, thorough and methodical.

It was a shame, but he understood. While his only desire at this point was to get to know Alec better, Magnus wouldn’t push, not when he knew all Alexander needed was time. Even though Magnus thirsted for more, he wouldn’t ruin his best chance at something special just because he was impatient.

So instead he would just find some clothes that would make Alec the most comfortable, despite the fact that it would result in much skin being covered. Magnus sighed, maybe there were other ways to get to know Alexander besides the obvious. 

Then he got an idea, one he should have probably thought out better.

“Sammy, why don’t you take Alexander here to the fitting room so he can check to see how these sweaters fit. Jace, come help me pick out some pants that you think would be to his liking,” Magnus said, mentally crossing his fingers no one would argue, but he was never a lucky person.

“Hey, it’s Simon, and I can’t be left alone with Alec, please! I’m a freaking plant killer. I had this cactus once and it died of dehydration in less than a week, like how is that even possible?! What if he needs something and I give him the wrong thing?” Simon put both hands in his hair, tugging at the curly roots.

Behind him Alec rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest, “Okay, there are so many things wrong with what you just said I don’t even know where to begin...Wait, yes I do. First and most obvious thing being, I don’t need a babysitter,” he said and walked off to the fitting room, angrily grabbing his meager pile of sweaters along the way.

Simon turned back to them, still frantic, “Besides the fact he’s about as safe with me as he would be in the Antarctic, he scares me. I can’t be held responsible for killing scary Groot! All the girls in the theater cried when Groot died, I can’t be the cause of that.”

“What are you even talking about?” Jace said, completely lost and confused, “Is he making sense to you?” he asked as he turned to Magnus.

“He rarely does,” Magnus replied and then gently pushed Simon in the other direction, “Just don’t talk to him, don’t try to drown him, and if he’s hungry give him a snack. Oh, and if he gets angry at you be sure to tell him ‘we are Groot’ and you’ll be fine.”

With that Magnus pulled a confused Jace behind him as they both headed over to the pants section. The blond had not yet explored this area himself, so he didn’t seem at all suspicious at being dragged over here by the Psychic. That was good. Magnus gave Jace as few minutes to peruse for himself while Magnus started to pull a few things out for Alec.

After a few minutes he honestly found himself a bit lost and walked over to the fire Elemental who had begun gathering some dark jeans for himself.

“I’m afraid I have no idea what it is Alexander looks for in pants. So far all I’ve seen are what appears to be whatever barely fit him from the thrift store. I doubt those are actually what he prefers and are more along the lines of ‘if it fits it works’. What do you think?” Magnus asked as casually as he could.

Jace turned and glanced over Magnus from head to toe before turning back to the rack, “Alec has simple tastes. Anything too loud or too showy isn’t for him.”

Magnus didn’t have to be a Psychic to pick up on Jace’s underlying meaning.

“Well, perhaps if it happens to be what feels most comfortable, Alec won’t mind something with a little more excitement to it,” he tossed back, trying to keep his voice neutral. It would do nothing to help his goals if he upset the beloved brother of the man he was trying to get to know.

Jace’s snort was not the most comforting response.

“He also likes things that last a while, that don’t fall apart after one wash.”

Magnus gasped, “I assure you I last plenty long!”

“Are we still talking about pants?”

“I don’t know, are we?” Magnus shot back.

He watched as Jace’s shoulders dropped and he roughly continued to shift through the jeans before him. He appeared agitated, but Magnus felt something different, something that made Magnus regret his small outburst. Jace was a commotion of protectiveness, concern, suspicion, self doubt, and perhaps a small dash of possessiveness. All of which Magnus understood.

He had to remember where these young people were coming from. They weren’t just family to each other, there was a battle worn comradery between them. Bonds so deep they could only have been formed in the metaphorical trenches of the streets they had only recently been plucked from. Such depth of love between the three of them would make it difficult to accept others so freely into their sibling’s lives.

Cautiously the Psychic moved closer to the blond, not wanting to appear aggressive in any way, “I apologize for that reaction, I suppose I’m just a little excited at having met someone as special as your brother and I’ve become a bit eager to get to know him. Something I’m sure you’ve noticed. I hope that his and my friendship is not an issue for you?”

Jace knew that despite trying to come off as untouchable, Magnus would be able to pick up on what really was causing his sour attitude towards Alec’s and Magnus’…thing. He hated that someone could read him so easily, but it was also a bit of a relief. This new situation they had found themselves in was something beyond his wildest dreams, but to Jace it all seemed so tenuous right now. He didn’t want to seem rude, mean, or aggressive towards his new teammates, he would hate himself if he ruined this opportunity for his siblings. It was so hard though to get rid of the initial reaction to put distance between him and his siblings and basically anyone else on earth. Magnus knowing his true feelings was probably all that would save him at this point.

Every moment of their lives since leaving the facility was a constant war against being found. Nobody could be trusted, but now he found himself in a house with incredible people doing incredible things and he had to rewrite his entire defense mechanism. He saw how open and happy Clary was, how trusting she had been from the start. It was enviable. She shined so bright in his eyes, Jace didn’t understand how someone could be such a beacon of joy and would even glance his way with him being what he was. Jace feared what she would think of him, what they would all think of him, if they found out about his past.

And yet here was Magnus who he was being rude to, he knew he was being a dick, and the older mutant was apologizing to Jace! These people were too kind and too understanding, it made Jace feel like dirt for being suspicious.

Jace pulled a pair of pants off the rack, trying not to fling them at Magnus, “These will work.”

Magnus took them with a raised eyebrow, “You sure? These have a little embroidered embellishment on the pockets.”

Jace shrugged, not meeting Magnus’ eyes, “Like you said, as long as they feel comfortable then he can wear them…if he wants to that is.”

Magnus accepted them with a nod of his head, “All right, I’ll bring these over to him. I’m sure Simon will be nearing his stress limit soon anyway and he talks too much when he’s nervous. Thankfully all the plants in this mall are fake otherwise I’d be concerned for his safety.” He turned and walked a few feet away when he heard Jace’s voice call out to him.

“He likes burgers.”

Magnus turned back to see Jace this time meeting his gaze.

“He likes bacon burgers the most, a bit weird since cows are his favorite animal. And he is scary good at pool,” Jace added before once again turning back to the jeans he’d been staring at the last five minutes.

Magnus accepted the olive branch offered with a smile and continued off to the fitting room.


	2. Unsettled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! So far with all my drafts this series has made it up to about 110,000 words and I'm still not even close to done o.O this has been so much fun to write and I'm thrilled that people are enjoying this!

Ideally, Luke would have loved to just let his newest recruits sit around for a bit longer as they adjusted to their new lifestyle, but they were in a war that would not wait. They needed their new people to be in top shape. And they needed to learn to work as a team. Just getting along well enough not to be at each other's throats every other minute was not enough to constitute a functional team worthy of saving lives. There would need to be a lot of work done before they even got close to that level.

The team part is what worried Luke the most. While Alec, Isabelle and Jace worked seamlessly together, they couldn’t get away with relying on that dynamic only now that there were four others to work in there. They all had different abilities, different weaknesses, different opinions, and all together a different way of getting a job done. It would take a lot of hit and miss trials before they worked through all the kinks, Luke just hoped that they would all survive long enough to see the fruits of their labors.

He was no Psychic, lord he knew that, but he could tell there were bound to be some conflicts among the team. He could already feel some tension brewing between several pairs, ones he should have been able to predict from the start.

Simon vs. Alec was probably the smallest one he had to worry about. Alec obviously found Simon to be annoying and his attention towards Isabelle only made things worse. However, Alec would not let that affect him during a mission, if anything he’d be the one most likely to keep Simon focused.

Simon vs Jace was another story. Simon had been displeased with Jace’s attention toward Clary since day one. Thankfully Jace didn’t see Simon as competition, so their minor dislike of each other would hopefully not get much worse. Luke would do his best to have a mediator present on any missions they took together

Jace vs. Magnus was a little surprising, but not off the wall considering how close the Elementals were. There was bound to be a little bit of jealousy there as the attraction between Alec and Magnus grew. And it would grow, Luke would bet money on it.

Honestly, the slight tensions in the house were smaller than Luke had been anticipating. They were under best case scenario at this point. Plus, it wasn't just animosity that was the source of the tension. There was enough pheromone in the the air lately to make Luke feel like he had hay-fever. Simon obviously found Isabelle to be enchanting, and Jace seemed to be in the same mindset towards Clary. It was a little odd to see Alec pull away a bit after he was sure that the Elemental and Magnus were bordering on becoming the new ‘it couple’ of the house, the two of them already bonding on a spiritual level that Luke had never seen Magnus reach before. Alec, though he appeared to be pulling back a bit, didn’t seem upset and neither did Magnus, so he’d let it slide for now. The tension between them was of a different sort from what Luke was worried about anyway.  

Still, teamwork would come with time and practice. However, they needed to work on a more personal level at the same time.

* * *

 

“I’m going to set you three up with a personal trainer. They will have occasional one on one time with each of you, the goal being to hone your abilities,” Luke told Alec one night while they sat together on the couch. The whole team was in the common room for the night, enjoying having new people around to liven up their sometimes boring nights between missions. Alec had been reading quietly on the couch while the others had been talking over a movie they had playing in the background. Slowly the Elemental closed the book after marking his place in his head and looked up at Luke, his eyes clouded with apprehension that he was trying to hide poorly.

“You’re not going to train us?” he asked.

Luke shook his head, “Not you and Jace, no. I only know the basics of Elementals and I could never offer you both the same quality of knowledge as someone else who knows first hand. I will be training Isabelle though. Ferals, I know,” he said with a wry grin.

Alec’s lips twitched up in some semblance of a smile. He was comfortable with Luke training Izzy, that part didn’t concern him. What did concern him was that there were no Elementals that he had met, therefore they would be trained by strangers. It set off a few warning bells that Magnus seemed to sense from across the room because he turned back to them with a frown on his face.

Alec shook his head, signaling he was fine and Magnus seemed to accept that and returned his attention to the movie.

Luke noted the apprehension through the tension that had begun to form in Alec’s shoulders. Not for the first time Luke wished he had found these three much sooner, before they had to become hardened soldiers as children.

He leaned closer to Alec, softening his voice, “I promise that I will find you each a trainer that you can trust. I want you both to be your best, and I can’t give you that myself, but I’ll find someone who can. Sound fair?”

Alec hesitated, but nodded.

“Do you have anyone in mind?”

Luke smiled, “I think I’ve got the perfect person to handle Jace. It'll take some time to get his trainer out here. That team does a lot of missions for me in Europe. You though...I think I may need to do a bit of digging before I can decide who is the best fit. For now, I’ll get started with Izzy.”

Alec nodded slowly, a thousand things running through his mind all at once. Who would it be? Would they like him? Would he like them? What would their ability be? Would Jace be okay taking orders? Would Izzy be comfortable with Luke? 

Would his trainer think he was good enough for this team?

* * *

 

“Can’t sleep?”

Alec’s entire body jolted as Magnus’ voice pulled him from his dark musings, something that made Magnus wince in apology, “Sorry, I could hear you thinking all the way down the hall and thought I’d check on you. I can leave you alone if you prefer.”

“Uh, yeah. I mean, no. I…yeah, I can’t sleep, and no, you don’t have to leave,” Alec stuttered out, moving his book out of the way so Magnus could take a seat next to him by the waterfall. After everyone had gone to bed, Alec had stuck around, claiming he wanted to finish one last chapter. It wasn’t a lie, so Luke and Izzy wouldn’t suspect anything, but it wasn’t the full truth either.

There was a bit of doubt nagging in the back of Alec’s mind, like a small pebble stuck in his shoe. Small and innocuous but rendered him completely off balance. Last week when Magnus had run in to the hangar and he made that connection with Alec, he didn’t think twice before deciding that they needed to stay. He had felt that these people needed him and his siblings as much as they needed them.

Now though, Alec now had time to mull over the finer details about what joining this team meant, and he was worried. It was a slowly heating pot about to boil over in to panic, and it had caused him to pull away from Magnus recently, his fear being that the Psychic would sense something off.

The danger didn’t bother him much, he knew these missions would be dangerous going in. Obviously, look at what happened to Ragnor. Hell, Jace almost died and that was their first one! He loved his siblings and he worried about them, but they could handle themselves and Alec would still be there to watch their backs along with the rest of the team now.

It was the unknown that held all the shadows, monsters, skeletons and lost shoes in the closet.

Would he even be good enough for them? These people were so incredible in what they could do, and Alec was just...Alec, master of daisies. Sure, that whole root dome he made was impressive, but that had only happened because he thought Jace was dead. And the flower shop, that was just because he was scared, wanted to protect Magnus, and half out of his mind with fever. He doubted he would ever be able to do that under normal circumstances. It's not like they could fake one of his siblings deaths every time they needed him to do something impressive.

On top of that, Alec knew next to nothing about these people, and these people knew almost completely nothing about them. Eventually some details would be revealed. Magnus had spoken about Ragnor and how he had become part of the team. Alec had already mentioned Max, but he hadn’t given any details on his death. Not just because they didn’t know every detail, but because it would lead to a topic that he wasn’t sure they could come back from. About why Max had died.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Alec chuckled dryly, “I don’t think I want to dump anything else on you. I’m sure having three more sad bags of emotionally damaged people living with you has been more than enough weight on your mind this week.”

Magnus hummed as he pulled a foot out from where he sat on the floor with Alec and took off his slipper. Slowly he did the same with his other foot before rolling up the pant legs of his silk pajama bottoms, “You should give this a try. Almost always eases away some of the tension,” he said as he dipped both feet in to the pool at the base of their indoor waterfall, something that Alec was still trying to get a handle on. He'd never heard of a house with its own spring inside, it was just something else that made him love this place even more.

With only a small moment of hesitation, Alec did the same, letting out a soft groan as his feet hit the chilled water. He let his eyes flutter shut.

“That really does feel good.”

“See? You should trust me when I say something is good,” Magnus replied, leaning back on his elbows as he took in that gorgeous profile of Alexander’s. Many times before Magnus had always wondered what it would be like if he could read minds like he could read emotions. He would forever be glad he couldn’t, but it didn’t stop him from wishing he knew what the other man was thinking.

“I hope you don’t really think of yourselves as an extra drag on my mind. Like I said before, I hate feeling lonely. This is actually quite exciting for me. I truly enjoy having you around and I miss our little chats,” he said, eyes never drifting away from Alec.

Alec winced, “Yeah, me too. Sorry about being a little standoff-ish this week. Still trying to…settle in I guess.”

“Think nothing of it, but if you need some help settling then you are always welcome to come ask me for help. Any of us really, we want you to feel at home here,” Magnus said, and he meant it. He just wished that his words didn’t bring a swell of doubt into Alec’s head, “Is there something I can do to make this feel more like home to you?”

Alec’s hunched shoulders sagged. The small part of his face that Magnus could see looked sad and drawn.

“Home… I’m not sure I really know what that entails. I'm not even sure if we’ve ever really had a home before. Even before I was sent to the facility I never felt like I was welcome in our family’s house," he said sadly, his gaze falling to the rippling water around his calves.

He could feel Magnus next to him, so earnest and welcoming. Alec found himself wanting to tell Magnus everything, anything that would keep the man closer for just a little bit longer, but he was so afraid to say too much an reveal something that would send Magnus running from the mess that was his life. He didn't know how much time had passed when he suddenly felt a cautious brush of fingers against his arm.

"Tell me about it," came Magnus' gentle nudge, an offering to share the burden of whatever was on his mind. Alec sighed, keeping his eyes on the water, not wanting to see what Magnus' face did as he started to speak.

"They found out I was sick when I was just a toddler, the disease presented very early and I spent most of my childhood in and out of hospitals. The few times I was home I could barely leave my room. I was embarrassing to my parents, people who prided themselves on being strong and carrying an excellent legacy. Some Legacy…Cystic fibrosis, they said I probably wouldn’t live past fifteen,” he said, his voice hollow and eyes vacant as he seemingly stared into his past. Magnus’ heart clenched at the thought of Alec being so young and so sick.

“I was ten when the Circle Corp recruitment guy showed up and told my parents he knew people who could fix me. My parents didn’t even hesitate to sign a paper that made me someone else’s problem for a while. Izzy and Max got the same disease but it didn’t really hit them hard until they were older, so they didn’t have to go to the facility until after I’d been there for over a year. Our parents didn’t have much trouble signing them away either. They were ashamed at having sick children, even though it was their genes that made us this way. They could barely even look at us, just kept us hidden away in our rooms where no one would notice us.” Alec’s voice became more bitter as he continued. Magnus could feel how raw he still felt even all these years later.

Magnus sat up, casually making sure that his shoulder bumped in to Alexander’s so he could offer some physical comfort without making the Elemental uncomfortable.

“Thalassemia.”

Alec glanced over confused.

Magnus met his gaze, “It’s what my mother and I had. Made us weak, tired…she wasn’t able to work to keep us fed properly or to pay for the transfusions that would have made the disease more manageable for us. We weren't dying, but we certainly weren't living. We thought our prayers had been answered when the recruiter came to tell us he could make our lives better, that a man named Valentine was going to save us,” he made sure Alec was meeting his gaze before continuing, “He played us all and took advantage of people at their most vulnerable. I know it must have hurt to be rejected by your own family, and your life since then has been a constant nightmare, but don’t let that ruin your current situation. You have family, you have new friends, and you have a purpose. I hope that eventually you will feel safe enough to call this place your first real home.”

He felt a small bit of tension leave Alec’s shoulders from where they remained in contact.

“I hope so too,” Alec said, and Magnus could feel that he truly did wish it.

Wanting to lighten the mood, Magnus playfully splashed some water over at Alec who’s face finally broke out in a grin. For a few minutes they kicked water back and forth, Magnus’ face nearly splitting in two when he heard Alexander giggle for the first time. It was breathtaking to hear such an innocent noise come from the normally stoic man.

Eventually they slowed down and continued to talk about random things. It was a little difficult to find safe and relevant topics the two of them shared. Alec and his siblings were barely knowledgeable about pop culture, Isabelle probably knowing the most since she tried to keep up with trends. Magnus didn’t always want to have dark and dramatic conversations, eventually Alec would associate their talks with painful memories. He couldn’t have that.

Alec loved his siblings, Magnus assumed that would probably be the safest topic to move on to.

“So tell me, how does Jace fit in to all this? You all look nothing alike, and you three appear too close in age to have been from the same mother,” Magnus asked, and immediately knew it was a mistake.

Alec’s whole body tensed up, panic flitting across his mind and Magnus tried to quickly back-track.

“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to, I was just curious. We can talk about something else,” he offered, hoping he didn’t sound too desperate. He could feel the gears in Alec’s head turning fast enough to steam.

Alec felt ice freeze in his veins. This was only the start. He knew this was coming, he had only wished they would have more time to get to know the others and for the others to see Jace before they learned about his past. Alec cursed mentally, knowing that Magnus could feel his panic. How could he play that off? Had he already ruined things for Jace?

“Uh, uh…no, it’s fine. Jace isn’t blood related. I’m sorry if you thought we were keeping that a secret. It is pretty obvious though, I mean…he’s very…blond,” Alec finished lamely.

Magnus nodded slowly, “I see.”

“I met him at the facility. We became really close,” Alec added, a little too fast.

Magnus could feel that Alec was hiding something, but he didn’t want to press. He couldn’t sense a lie from the man next to him, so he wasn’t overly concerned. He was about to try and change the subject again when he felt Alec swiftly stand up and start putting his shoes back on.

“This has been nice, but I think I’m finally tired. I’ll see you at breakfast?” he said, not making eye contact with the Psychic. He didn’t wait for an answer before darting down the hall towards the living quarters, leaving behind a bewildered Magnus.


	3. Doomed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all!!!!! Thank you again for all the wonderful comments and kudos!!!!! As a gift for all the continued support, I'm posting two chapters today!!!!! Woooooo!!!!! Hopefully it sustains you all until Friday :) 
> 
> Time to take a quick dive in to Simon/Clary's past. Very quick, but there will be a lot more details in the third story.

“I’m ruining everything.”

Clary’s quick reflexes were all that kept a distraught Magnus from slapping his hand down in to her plate of eggs as she swiped it to the side of the table. This had been going on since she had arrived in the kitchen that morning to see Magnus blearily making himself an Irish coffee. Irish coffee was the number one indication that Magnus was fretting over something. Gently she had prodded him, asking him what the issue was only to be bombarded with a general over-analysis of his and Alec’s talk from the night before.

Reaching out again she saved the half empty cup of coffee before Magnus could knock that over as he banged his head on the marble table top. She winced in sympathy at the loud thwacks she heard.

“Magnus, I think you may be reading too far in to this,” she offered, “So he got a little nervous when you asked about Jace’s past. Maybe Jace had a rough time at the facility and Alec didn’t want to accidentally blab some personal stuff. He seems like he’s nervous most of the time anyway.”

Groaning Magnus pulled his head back up, red mark on his temple from where he hit the table, “No, I pushed. I have pushed too hard too fast. If it was just his normal jitters then I wouldn’t feel so bad. He was panicked! Scared even! What have I done that would make Alec be scared of me?”

Clary sat back against the chair, fork twirling through her eggs that were becoming too cold to eat, “Maybe it’s not that he was scared of you, but your reaction. I mean, we all have sensitive things in our past that we worry about coming up with potential significant others. Wouldn’t you be scared of Alec’s reaction if he asked about Camille?”

The color drained from Magnus’ face as he thought about the implications. He turned to Clary, his whole body tensed up, “You don’t….you don’t think that Alec and Jace were once…I mean they aren’t blood related, what if…I mean, it’s possible that they were. They were on the cusp of being teenagers at the time. It’s completely plausible that Jace and Alec were--”

“Jace and Alec were what?” Simon asked, popping in to the kitchen and making both Psychics jump in their chairs enough for the coffee and eggs to finally meet a dismal end on the floor.

Clary’s mouth bobbed like a fish out of water as she pushed Magnus towards the floor to get him to start cleaning, “Uh, he was saying that they might have been, uh, roommates. Yeah, roommates at the facility together and that’s how they became so close.”

Simon giggled as he ducked down to look in the pantry for his poptarts, “And they were roommates,” he snarked under his breath, thinking of a tumblr post he had seen, “Actually, if that’s true that they aren’t related I can totally see the roommates to lovers trope being possible for those two. I mean, they are kind of intimately close for non-brothers and all. Hell they're a little close for even related brothers. You heard Luke though, we do not judge anyone's lifestyles in this house.”

Magnus let out a pained groan from under the table where he was sopping up coffee-soaked eggs. Clary sympathetically patted his head, careful not to ruin the carefully styled mohawk, “We don’t know if they were or not, Simon. Magnus here is just having his morning coffee with a side of over-analysis.”

Letting out a triumphant shout, Simon pulled the last wildberry poptart packet from the back of the pantry. The shelved had gotten a lot more crowded now that there were three more mouths to feed, especially one that required the entire snack section of the store after a hard day of using his abilities.

He slid in to the chair next to Clary before ripping in to the foil, “Do we know which facility they came from yet? Maybe we know some of their friends from before and can get them in touch.”

Clary shook her head, her orange locks falling over her shoulders, “Izzy said they didn’t have any friends besides each other. Their facility didn’t encourage much interaction between the kids. They had to do a lot of sneaking around in order to see each other.”

Simon’s face became sour, “They didn’t let them make friends?”

The idea seemed absurd to Simon seeing as it was at the facility that he and Clary had met and become friends. 

Years ago, his mother had very reluctantly sent him to be treated for Hemophilia, honestly not knowing anything besides the fact that they could help her son, and at first Simon had been thrilled. His mother had become far too stressed since his father died, and Simon loved the idea that his illness could be eliminated as a factor in her struggle. Obviously, he wasn't quite successful. After the mass mutant breakout six years ago, Simon had chosen to go in to hiding with Clary rather than place his family in danger by returning home. It had only taken about ten minutes on his computer to create the paperwork to convince his mother he had died so that she never went looking for him. Still, he kept an eye on them from time to time since they had been his reason for living, along with Clary, that helped him survive this long. 

He had been placed in a large ward of boys, the girls ward being across the hall. The kids all had plenty of interaction time, good and bad, in between treatments. A lot like the elementary school he had left behind. It was his first day during group yard time that he met Clary, the tiny girl who stepped in to prevent Simon from becoming the target yet again to a bully.

Clary had been there through his treatments, holding his hand, drawing him pictures, keeping him company. She introduced him to Jocelyn, a nice lady in a lab coat who stopped by every once in a while, to check on Clary. She had even introduced him to Luke, who was like a dad to her and also stopped by for visits, and he promised to keep an eye on both of them.

It was because of them having each other that the day that his ability presented he didn’t completely lose his mind. He still remembers so vividly the day that Clary’s last pencil had fallen down in to a grate on the floor, and she had wanted so badly to finish up her latest drawing. Unknowingly, the fork Simon had been holding as he ate his lunch had shifted in to a pencil, identical to the one that she had just lost. He had stared at it dumbly after trying to use it to scoop up more of his meatloaf, his brain trying to comprehend when he had put down his utensil.

Clary though had simply smiled brightly, and thanked him before she had reached out to grab the pencil, the skin of their fingers brushing against each other. It was only an hour later that her own mutation had manifested, when she had managed to turn her blanket in to some nice dress she had always wanted to try on from a magazine. Her first mutation had been Simon's, something that he still felt special about so many years later.

For them, the facility was not some dungeonous torture chamber. Was it a long term summer camp? No, not unless summer camps had radioactive lakes that gave all the kids super powers, although that sounded like an amazing Marvel comic. The idea that the facility they their new housemates may have been one of the ones that haunted a few of the mutants they had saved before was a bit disheartening to Simon.

He knew that Magnus had a rough time at his own facility, but that was mostly because if how his abilities presented rather than how the adults treated them. It made his breakfast taste sour in his mouth as he thought about what all of them must have suffered before coming here. 

Clary sat down, this time with a bowl of oatmeal for herself and a muffin that she pushed in front of Magnus, “Every facility was different. Maybe that database will tell us more about what was done at each one. It could even tell us which one they came from. I’m kind of curious to see what my files will say. I mean, I don't even know the first thing about where I came from. Maybe they'll have some insight?”

Simon nodded eagerly, “Me too, I’m wondering just how detailed it all is. Luke and I were going to start digging in to that later this morning. It’s going to be a nightmare trying to work through that thing. As it is now, it’s not an easily searchable database. No organization whatsoever. I’m betting Ragnor did his best to scramble the info so that if it did fall in to the wrong hands, it wouldn’t be easy for anyone to gather every bit of data quickly.”

Magnus was proud that he didn’t flinch at hearing Ragnor’s name again so soon and nodded at what Simon was saying, “Do you have any idea how detailed the database gets?” he wondered if he would be able to find anything about the details on his mother’s death.

“Not really. First glance we saw patient histories, a few treatment schedules, some papers on the mutation manifestations, but it was really jumbled. We’re just going to have to sift through by hand until I can come up with a way to do like…a word search or something.”

Magnus sighed and bit in to his muffin. As if anything in their lives could ever be easy.

* * *

 

“I’m ruining everything.”

Isabelle rolled her eyes from where she stood in her new closet, digging through for something to wear for the day. It was so hard to choose now that she had so many new outfits to try! She glanced at the mirror on her door, seeing the reflection of her big brother sprawled on her bed, face covered by his hands.

“You’re not ruining anything, Hermano. They know nothing about Jace yet, and I don’t think Magnus suspects anything bad. He’s an empath! Surely he’d have said something if he felt something he didn’t like,” she said as she plucked out a different shirt.

Alec groaned loudly, “I know he’s an empath. That means he must have felt me panic. Estamos condenados.”

“Don’t be so dramatic, we’re not doomed. And you’re always panicking about something. What I mean is that he can sense what Jace feels, and obviously he’s not going to feel ‘evil’ coming from him because Jace isn’t evil. You’re worrying about nothing,” she said, finally emerging from the closet fully dressed with tight jeans and a textured tank.

Really, her brother would have white hair by the time he was thirty at this rate.

Alec pulled himself up to a sitting position to look at his sister, “These people hate Valentine and they have every right to. He just caused the death of one of their friends. If they did find out Jace is their worst enemy’s son, I wouldn’t be surprised if they lost their minds. I just…I want them to get to know Jace before they find out.”

Isabelle’s shoulders sagged as she heavily fell on the bed next to him. She understood where Alec was coming from, and it was a concern. She just wished that they could just bare all and get it over with, keeping secrets was something she hated, but it wasn’t her secret to tell, not when it could potentially put Jace in danger. It was only a small mercy that Jace so far seemed to be too distracted by their new home, not to mention Clary, to even dwell on his past enough to realize what it could mean if discovered. Even so, Alec worried enough for two people anyway.

“I don’t want us to lose the only home we’ve ever had, Iz. Qiero que seamos felices finalmente,” Alec said quietly.

She nodded and ducked her head under his chin, pulling in the familiar and safe scent, “Yo tampoco, Hermano.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who don't speak spanish, some quick rough translations:
> 
> Hermano: Brother  
> Yo tampoco: Me too  
> Qiero que seamos felices finalmente: I just want us to finally be happy  
> Estamos condenados: We're doomed


	4. Mentoring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Izzy gets some training!!!!!!!!! Alec's mentor won't be showing up until story 3, and Jace's in story 4 for now. Can you guess who's training them???? ;)

The dojo was the absolute best place for Alec to beat out his frustrations on some poor unsuspecting punching bag. Each hit he made sure was strong enough to send sharp vibrations up his arm and threaten to split the skin over his knuckles. Over the years Alec had found that repetitive activities could distract him from the things weighing on his mind, he knew it wasn’t always healthy, but what other outlet did he have?

Jace would lose himself for a while in the girls he followed home. Izzy would lose herself in her work. And Alec would lose himself in repetitive exercise, like a punching bag or at the archery lanes at their gym. If he got injured every once in a while by that practice he didn’t care if it meant he was distracted enough.

And he needed the distraction now. If he didn’t think about things, he wouldn’t have to feel bad about Magnus picking up on his conflicting emotions. The Psychic had been nothing but kind and understanding to Alec and it was killing him to think that he couldn’t be completely honest in return.

The next hit was strong enough that he felt it in his grinding teeth.

“Jeez, Alec. Take it easy, did that bag say something rude to you?” Jace asked, smirk on his face as he walked over to the bench press next to Alec.

Alec paused, using a taped up hand to wipe away the sweat that threatened to get in to his eyes. He shook his head and followed Jace over to the bench, “Nah, I just didn’t like the way it was looking at me this morning. Thought I’d teach it a lesson about staring,” he said around heavy breaths, “You need a spot?”

Jace nodded to the question and lay back on the bench, “Yeah, the treadmill gave me the same look yesterday. Stomped all over it for an hour to let it know who’s boss.”

Alec stood close as Jace started his first set, quietly taking in the room around them. There seemed to be three sections to the dojo, but Alec was still trying to get the lay of the land. Sliding doors were awesome and all, but sometimes he couldn’t tell the difference between what was a door and what was just a wall. He’d already embarrassed himself a few times with some of the older team members walking by while he was cautiously running his hands over a wall, looking for the broom closet.

From what he could see, there was one section devoted to all kinds of equipment that he had seen at their gym before.  This was where he and Jace were keeping up with their fitness routines until their mentors were chosen. Right next to that was another room, separated by a reinforced glass wall, that Alec only just learned had a door in it as well. That room was the real dojo, the traditional flooring giving the room an ancient feel compared to the futuristic look of the rest of the house. Only lit through natural light, it was a beautiful room and Alec found himself looking forward to using it eventually.

He knew Izzy would love it once her own lessons started up with Luke. He had a feeling a lot of that training would be done in that room.

The third section was behind a real wall, with an actual door, and led to the showers and the locker room where even more equipment was held. From staffs, knives, and bows to helmets, pads and punch dummy’s.

This place was incredible. It was too good to be true, really. His face fell as his mind once again wandered back to his fears of this only being a temporary arrangement.

Jace finished up his third set, signaling that he was going to take a breather and sat up. Alec tossed him a water bottle and sat down next to him on the bench, their knees barely touching.

Jace took a big swig of water before bumping his shoulder in to Alec’s, “You going to tell me what’s got you all bummed out?”

Alec pursed his lips and looked away.

“Dude, it’s me. You can tell me anything. Is Magnus moving too fast for you or something? I can talk to him if you need me to.” Jace prodded gently.

Alec shook his head. This was what he meant by wanting the others to get to know Jace. At first glance Jace came off arrogant, hot headed, and a bit of a dick, but he had his layers. Did the others get a chance to see how much he cared about him and Izzy? Had they seen how he kept his laser focus on those he cared about and would do anything for them if they asked?

Others always assumed that Alec was the only sensitive one in their little family, but the truth was that Jace was probably just as sensitive. The first night Alec had met him he had seen a boy crippled by self-hatred and fear, and even years later that had not completely gone away. Some small part of Jace still believed that he wasn’t worth the love of his siblings, that deep down he was just the byproduct of some madman, lucky enough to find himself with family. All his efforts to keep them safe he saw as payment to stay with them, even though Alec tried to show him that family wasn’t something you could buy.

Alec hated that he still hadn’t been able to get Jace to believe differently, not entirely anyway. And he hated that after all this time, Valentine still haunted Jace.

Not wanting to douse his brother’s recent happiness, he chose to keep his concerns to himself and instead put a fake smile on his face he hoped Jace would fall for, “I’m just sad to see how pathetic you’ve become in the last few weeks while I was sick. Three sets and you already need a break? You’re slipping, Firecracker.” he said, playfully bumping in to Jace’s arm.

“Oh yeah? What about you? Has my little daisy gone soft? Let’s see how many sets you can manage,” the blond snarked back, hopping up to take position behind the bench.

With a more genuine grin, Alec laid back and put his hands up on the bar, ready to start his own set. Just as he was about to lift he felt Jace lean down, his face by Alec’s ear.

“And maybe when you’re ready, you can tell me what’s really bothering you,” he heard whispered in his ear.

He started his set without answering.

* * *

* * *

* * *

 

“I want to start your training by saying that anything that comes up in here, anything private, will stay between us. I promise that nothing will be said to anyone, not even your brothers.”

The sincerity in Luke’s voice was a little surprising for Isabelle and she let her confusion show on her face, “That sounds fine, but how much do you really think will be said during our sessions? I mean, you’re just going to show me how to fight better, right? We are standing in a dojo, after all,” she said with a smile.

Luke chuckled and shook his head as he gestured for her to take a seat on the floor. Most Ferals that he dealt with had the same reaction, and it never ceased to amuse him.

It had gotten late in the day, all the others had come through the gym already, leaving the room empty for just the two of them, like Luke had wanted. The sun was just setting behind the mountain, the room dimmed as the natural light faded.

“Believe it or not, Ferals are not all about claws and fancy back-flips. There’s a lot more to controlling our abilities beyond honing our physical strength,” he told her gently.

He saw her narrow her eyes as she pondered in her head what he could be talking about, and Luke stayed quiet, waiting for her to guide the next part of their conversation. It was a tactic he had learned on his own to get to know someone better. By letting someone else take the time to come up with questions, rather than just throw all the answers at them all at once, they would absorb the information better. It also gave Luke a chance to learn how a person’s mind worked. Were they quick to jump to conclusions? Did they prefer to talk about themselves? Were they open minded? Did they refuse to take the lead? So much could be learned about someone simply by staying quiet.

He didn’t have to wait long before she opened her mouth to speak, a good sign she was capable of taking initiative.

“Instinct. Magnus mentioned that Ferals run on instinct, it’s what guided our every move,” she said slowly.

She was a smart one. Luke smiled encouragingly, nodding for her to continue.

She sat up a little straighter, “So if there’s more to controlling our abilities beyond the physical…part of my training will be controlling my instincts?”

She was a very smart one, Luke found himself looking forward to honing such a sharp mind.

“That’s right. It’s good for us to be I tune with our animal instincts, but like I’ve told you before, we can’t forget our human ones along the way,” he said and once again sat back waiting for her next move.

Once again she pounced back quickly, “What can my human instincts offer me that my animal ones can’t?”

Luke hummed thoughtfully, “Well, balance for one. You’re DNA was not completely replaced with animal genes, you’re a mix of human and feline. Instinct is what drives survival, if only your feline instinct is the only thing driving your body, it will only be looking out for the animal side of you. Any human part of you would be just an unprotected bystander.”

Isabelle glanced down, biting her lip as she thought about what that meant. What would it mean if her human instinct was completely absent? She gasped at the first thing that popped in her head, horrified at the potential disasters that could occur.

“My family, my first priority would be protecting myself, not them. Oh my god, if I don’t have full control does that mean I may not protect them if it could potentially kill me?” she asked, already feeling sick to her stomach. At Luke's solemn nod, her mind began to reel.

She thought back to so many times that they had all been in danger, all the times she could have abandoned her siblings. Times she had turn and run after seeing policemen closing in on them. Times she had hid while Jace fended off muggers. Times she had stayed away while Alec took care of Jace when the fire elemental had come down with the flu. She thought back to only a week ago when she was ready to jump through a portal, leaving without finding out if Jace was alive. Leaving without dragging Alec behind her.

Tears started to well in her eyes, “I was going to leave them behind!” she cried out as her whole body began to shake, and Luke reached forward, dragging her against his chest as she began to sob. Gently he began to stroke her hair, as she continued to cry.

“Hey, you just let it out. I know that it’s scary, but the fact that you’re crying right now is proof that your human side still is in the game. You haven’t lost the battle, and your brothers are safe. I’m going to teach you how to keep the balance, okay? It’s not over,” he said softly, he began to rock her slowly. He understood why she was so terrified, it was like waking up from a dream where you didn’t realize you had no control. She had spent years thinking she had her mutation mastered, only to discover that it was her own abilities that had mastered her. It was hard to imagine not being able to trust your own body, and yet here she was facing that very thing.

Eventually the tears stopped and Luke carefully sat her back, wiping a few leftover tears off her face as it became visible to him, “Every tear is just a reminder that you’re still human. Don’t ever try to hold them back,” he said when she tried to look away embarrassed.

She nodded and gave a small weak laugh, “Wow, I think I understand the whole ‘I won’t say anything’ speech you gave when we first got in here. I can’t imagine the teasing I’d get if Jace and Alec found out I cried my first session.”

Luke chuckled, “Just wait till their mentor’s get their hands on them.”

This time Isabelle let out a real laugh as Luke pulled her to her feet. She looked around, surprised to see the room had become completely dark, the sun completely hidden behind the mountain as night fell.

“Wow, I can hardly see a thing without my Feral eyes,” she commented, about to shift them when Luke told her to stop.

“Don’t use those just yet, we’ve still got the physical side to our training next,” he said.

Isabelle frowned, “But it’s dark in here now.”

She could hear his smile in his voice, “I know, so you’re going to show me how you’ll use your other senses work around that.”

She heard him back up, and she let a predatory grin fall on her features, “Let’s get started then.”


	5. Wary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all, can't believe it's already Friday again! I'm working extra hard to keep pumping out chapters because I know that as we near the holidays I'm probably not going to be able to write as much, but I don't want to miss any posting days. Also, so glad to hear that people are enjoying this story as much as the last one!

After all the drama involving the database that Simon was trying his best to paw through, he would have assumed it would be a little more…exciting? He’d been at it for hours and so far he’d only pulled up eight random patient files, ten treatment schedules, thirty-four long winded papers on gene splicing, and a whopping two files that were moderately interesting on mutant manifestation.

Luke had once told him that there were at least fifty different facilities that were housing these experiments, thousands of kids that had gone through these said treatments, and about sixty-five percent of those thousands had ended up with these mutant abilities. If that were true, it would take him, at this rate, 4.37 years to shift through all these files to account for each one. And that was only counting the big national holidays! He hadn’t even factored in the smaller ones yet. National kosher hot dog day was sacred to Simon and would be spent properly with a hot dog in each hand at all times.

He had been looking forward to blowing through all this in a day or two, give Luke all the info he needed to start planning missions, get a sneak peak at his own file, maybe even discover a way to take down all of Circle Corp and impress Izzy!

Heaving a sigh, Simon opened the next file to see just another small batch of patient history records. He started to sift through them one by one when he caught Luke and Magnus coming in to the computer room behind him. Not even glancing at the next file he had just pulled up, Simon turned to greet them with one kick of his foot to spin his chair around, “If you’re coming for news, I’m hoping you’re not expecting good news. Cause I’m fresh out.”

Luke shook his head, “Clary mentioned the ‘whacked out’ database to me earlier. Just do what you can with it and we’ll follow whatever trails you give us. For now, we have work to do,” he said and tossed a tactical gear bag at the Molecular. That’s when Simon noticed that Luke and Magnus were dressed for a mission, dark colors and sturdy boots. His excitement spiked, causing Magnus to chuckle.

“Yes! Another mission, what’s the dish?” Simon asked, already zipping open the bag to pull out his gear.

“Maia called to tell us that there was some chatter about a mutant with some sort of combustible power was hanging around one of the old Circle Corp facilities that had been abandoned after the big mutant jailbreak. Less than an hour ago there was a large explosion at one of the buildings there, so we’re assuming it’s that mutant. We’re going to try and find this person before any agents realize what happened and send any teams,” Magnus supplied.

“Clary is going to portal us about half a mile away. We step out in ten minutes, don’t be late,” Luke added and the two men turned out of the room, leaving Simon scrambling to change. As he wrestled himself in to his jacket, he remembered the database he had left open on the computer.

“Crap, probably should save my place or something”, he muttered under his breath and he turned back to lock his account. He was about to close out when the most recent file caught his eye, a young face that looked eerily familiar, the name on the top file confirming his guess at the identity.

“Huh,” he said to himself. At first, he wasn’t overly curious about it, he figured he’d look through it later when another name on the same file made him stop dead, his blood turning to ice in his veins.

“Fuck!”

* * *

 

“Our first official mission, that’s pretty cool, right?” Jace asked his sister as they gathered in the main room, waiting for everyone to arrive.

Isabelle looked a little hesitant before she smiled brightly and agreed, “Yes, this should be fun. Hopefully it’s a little less dramatic than your original mission to save Alec,” she said, grinning slyly at Magnus who was helping Clary get in to her own jacket, ever the gentleman.

The Psychic grinned back, “My dear, I could only hope that every mission allowed me the pleasure of meeting extraordinarily tall and handsome strangers that protect me from an agent’s stun gun.” Glancing to his left he checked to see how Alexander reacted to his statement only to see him going over a map with Luke, his eyes laser focused on the task ahead. Clearly he hadn’t heard Magnus.

Magnus diverted his attention back to the other two Lightwoods who were brimming with adrenaline. He couldn’t help but let his own excitement grow at the thought that this would be the norm from now on. Their team had an all new dynamic and it made him eager to get the job done.

Jace in particular had a feel of eagerness that was almost vibrating off of him.

“Are you excited about meeting another combustible person like yourself?” Magnus asked the Fire Elemental. It was common that those with similar mutations were often drawn to one another, so Magnus wouldn’t be surprised, but Jace shook his head, a soft smile on his face that he had not seen before on the blonds normally cocky face.

“I’m just glad that I may get to help someone,” he said and turned his attention back to Clary, the cocky grin back in full.

Magnus hummed under his breath before turning back to Isabelle, noting how she tended to chew on her bottom lip when she was nervous. He was about to attempt soothing her raw nerves when Luke’s voice boomed over the group, the sound full of authority and making the chatter die down within a moment.

“One minute until we head out! Where is Simon?” he asked.

“Here,” came the Molecular’s voice as he half jogged down the hallway. Mangus frowned as he felt a deep anger surrounding him. The Psychic turned to Luke and tilted his head in Simon’s direction, silently asking if Luke was aware of their normally cheerful teammate’s attitude.

Luke’s frown was deep, but he shook his head back at Magnus. They didn’t have time to discuss, they would ask Simon about it later then.

“Okay, let’s head out.”

* * *

 

Clary’s portal deposited them in the forest that surrounded the abandoned facility, the pine tree scent enveloping them as they stepped out. Alec’s skin tingled happily at the mass flora that greeted him. They didn’t waste time before following Luke to the west, their ears trained for incoming helicopters.

Isabelle was doing her best to seem focused, but her mind was everywhere. She’d only had one session with Luke, and despite holding her own in their darkened room spar, she was worried. The revelation of finding out that she wasn’t as in control as she thought on top of the guilt eating away at her for almost leaving her brother’s behind was like having two very large bugs flying around her head. She could try to swat them away, but they’d still be buzzing in her ear seconds later.

Darting ahead to Luke’s side, not noticing she cut off Simon behind her, she approached the team leader.

“Luke,” she whispered low enough that only his Feral hearing would pick it up, “I think I’m too distracted. I keep worrying that I’m going to lose control.” Her eyes darted back to Jace who was hovering near Alec as he grabbed a few acorns off the ground, “I would never forgive myself if I got someone hurt.”

“And how would you feel if you left now and one of them got hurt on this mission?” Luke whispered back, no anger or reprimand in his voice, only curiosity, “Ask yourself if you would truly feel more in control by running from yourself rather than being confident that you’re in charge and standing firm. I won’t make you stay. If you truly feel like you’re not in control then you can keep to the woods for now, but Clary told me about how amazing you were fighting off those agents before. I know we could use the help.”

Before she could give Luke her answer, Simon pushed forward roughly, “Excuse me Isabelle, I need to talk to Luke privately for a moment,” he said, not looking her in the eye. It was the first time he had ever come off as rude to her and she looked to Luke to see if he was as shocked as she was. The team leader did look a little put off by Simon’s behavior, but nodded to Isabelle signaling that she should step back.

She stayed in one spot, her heels slightly sinking in to the soft earth below her as she waited on her brothers to catch up, her eyes didn’t leave the figures of Simon and Luke up ahead as they continued to walk west. Jace came up to her first, noticing her intense gaze in the distance.

He squinted to see what had her so interested, confused when all he saw was Luke talking to an animated Molecular.

“What’s up, Iz?” Jace asked, his voice dropping low. After years together, he knew when his adoptive sister was sensing something. Alec heard the question and moved in closer, silently handing each sibling an acorn that they slipped in to a pocket reflexively.

She had a focused look which they knew meant she was listening in to something. A frown started to form on her pretty face.

“It’s Simon, he’s upset about something,” she said under her breath, not wanting Luke to hear and know she was eavesdropping, “I can’t hear everything but he said the word file and spy. Something else about…a trap?”

“What’s this about a trap?”

Magnus’s voice behind them made them all jump, Jace’s hand shooting up to his chest as if to soothe his heart that almost escaped his ribcage.

“Jeez, bro. You walk about as loud as Iz. Warn a guy,” he gasped.

The Psychic smirked, “Leather loafers. Soft soles make for wonderful stealth shoes, perfect if you need to sneak out of the house,” he winked at Alec.

“Simon, get a hold of yourself. We’ll talk about it later,” Luke said firmly, loud enough for those with normal ears to hear, making everyone frown. They would have inquired, but Luke raised his hand to silence them all as he scented the air. Peering through the trees they could all see the fence surrounding the the facility, the building that had blown still smoking a few buildings in.

He didn’t look pleased as he turned back to Isabelle, “I can’t smell anything. Smoke is covering it all. You?”

She stepped forward, he chin lifting to the air as she closed her eyes. She shook her head, “I don’t smell anything either. Or hear anything for that matter. I figured that the Circle agents would be closing in on this place quicker than this.”

Luke sighed, “Agreed. It’s odd, but we have to at least look. Let’s make this fast and get out of here. No splitting up though, if we need to leave fast I don’t want us all on different ends of the campus. Magnus, you feel anything?”

The Psychic shook his head, “Too far away. I’ll need to be in the compound to confidently identify any presence.”

“Luke,” Simon hissed through clenched teeth, his body rigid with anger.

“Not now, Simon. I told you we would talk later,” Luke shot back, “We’ve got a potential mutant in need, we need to focus on that first.”

“Are you thinking this is a trap?” Clary asked.

“It’s possible, but we can’t abandon a mutant in need just because we’re suspicious. This job has risks, we all know that. Part of that risk is potentially running in to agents. Let’s just be on our toes and get this done,” Luke bit out, frustration making it in to his voice for the first time that Alec had ever heard. This whole mission and everyone’s odd behavior was starting to concern the Elemental.

The team moved out from the cover of the trees and up to the fence that had become rusty with years of weathering. The links all but shattered with one solid blow from Isabelle’s kick, knocking down enough fencing for the team to squeeze through.

They walked out on to the patchy grass field in between two buildings in what probably was once a “play yard” for the kids. Jace’s nose wrinkled at the memory of their own play yard at their old facility.

Only some kids had outdoor privileges, Jace was one of them thanks to who his father was, but it was usually the kid’s abilities that limited their outdoor permissions. Ferals were forbidden outside, everyone too worried they could literally jump ship and escape. This kid who could jump a story high lost his chance at fresh air. And as soon as they found out Alec could manipulate plants, they did everything humanly possible to keep him away from them. Ivy that had grown on the building walls was stripped away. Potted plants in the hallways were removed. The facility was told to pour concrete over their play yard, and Alec was locked away inside with his sister.

Jace shouldn’t have been allowed outdoor time given that fresh air, extra oxygen anyway, was a boost to his fire abilities. Valentine had wanted Jace strong though, so for an hour every day Jace had just sat in the yard, alone, not allowed to interact with the other children. He would keep an eye on Max though, making sure the kid stayed out of trouble for the most part, but he wasn’t supposed to be seen with friends.

 Jace hated that yard.

The campus was an earie place to begin with, but the emptiness of it now made it seem oppressive. The facility comprised of several buildings that once had different purposes. The research lab. The clinic. The wards, and the place sick adults would go in and then never come back out…it wasn’t the most cheery place back then either really.

Alec shivered as they silently moved forward, his mind messing with him as it played the ghostly sounds of children crying and machines beeping. This type of place always seemed haunted to Alec, and Magnus seemed to feel the same. A similar shiver running through the Psychic that even Alec could see.

“Do emotions have a residual nature?” Alec asked him.

Magnus nodded, his breath coming out shaky, “If they are strong enough they can last for a few days. In places like this though, with so many strong emotions like fear, hate, and sorrow coming from so many people…it leaves a sort of stain on the place. One that normal humans may even be able to pick up on. I believe it’s the source of many ghost stories. The places in the world where the most heinous human atrocities have occurred usually feel quite similar to this. It is making it quite difficult to get a read on anything, actually. I don’t know if I’ll be able to sense a scared mutant among all the residual fear,” he whispered. He felt Alec’s hand bump against his side, ruffling his jacket, but Magnus didn’t think much of it.

Alec could hear the distress in the timber of Magnus’ voice, even if the Psychic was keeping his face blank. If this place felt uncomfortable to someone like Alec, he couldn’t even imagine what Magnus was feeling.

They all finally reached the center of the campus, bunching up in the street between four buildings, unsure of their next move and turning to Luke.

Luke scented the air again, cursing when he still only got smoke, “Magnus, you got anything?”

Magnus looked like he was about to shake his head, so moving in closer to the Psychic, Alec held out his  hand, “Will unloading a bit help?”

“Worth a shot,” Magnus said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes, “Any excuse to hold your hand.”

The Psychic slid his hand into Alec’s, reveling in the first warm thing he had felt since arriving at the facility campus before concentrating on the area around him. His link to Alec became a sort of added filter to what was being seen by Magnus, the excess emotional energy being siphoned into him rather that obstructing Magnus’ view. Finally, he was able to catch some glimpses beyond the thick foggy stain encompassing the site.

It only took a second before Magnus cried out in alarm.

“We’re surrounded!”


	6. Trapped

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy frick, action scenes are so hard D'X This was a super short chapter, so I'm posting two again today. I just hope that I can catch up again by writing three chapters before wednesday D'X

Chaos descended on them like a thick fog in the form of dozens of agents coming from all directions, and the team quickly tried to jump to action in the attempt to regain control of the situation, but fear clenched around their hearts like a vice. Alec, Magnus, Clary and Simon took on defensive positions while the others took the front lines, trying to keep the wave of agents from crushing them.

Simon started running towards any object lying around and quickly shifted them in to clones of himself, sending them in to the fray to cause as much confusion as possible. Clary stood back and shot portals around the agents like fish nets, hoping a few of the goons would be dumb enough to stumble in to them or that their offensive line would place some well aimed kicks and deposit some of the Circle agents in like a trash bin.

Alec stood tall placing himself between the agents and Clary, wanting to keep her open for an escape portal at any given moment. He would take on the few men who had somehow squeezed through where Luke, Izzy, and Jace were plowing through the oncoming attack, his legs and arms lashing out at any oncoming dangers. Any time he found himself without an opponent, he would take an acorn from his pocket, throwing it in to the crowd with a burst of his energy. Each seed would explode out in a mass of wriggling roots as it hit the ground, tripping up anyone trying to sneak up on the others.

Wanting to keep as many agents down as possible, Magnus focused on pushing any half-conscious mind in to a full sleep. He couldn’t risk pushing anything in to the minds of the larger crowd of active minds, knowing that it would be difficult to avoid accidentally hitting one of their own with friendly fire.  

Jace was throwing off fireballs from his fists, sending them in to approaching agents chests and sending them flying back, their protective armor smoking. He was starting to lose count of how many he had blasted back and was starting to feel the beginnings of fatigue creeping up on him. He was gasping for air, the first sign that his body was overusing his personal oxygen. His fire would be the next thing to dip if this didn’t let up soon.

He caught sight of Luke and Izzy fighting back to back, moving as if in a deadly dance with the men closing in on them.

“How many more are there?” Jace yelled, frantically kicking back an agent that got too close.

“At least thirty,” Luke yelled back, his voice strained.

“Shit!” Jace cursed. Maybe Simon had been right about this being a trap, but why though?

Out of the corner of his eye, Jace saw a figure approaching. Quickly he drew up another ball in his hands, glad his lighter was full of fuel that day, and hurled it at the oncoming figure. Only instead of it throwing the man back, it simply burst apart as it hit them.

Jace paused as he stared at the man before him, noting that the shirt where the ball had hit was burnt away to reveal a patch of skin. Wait, no. Not skin, rock. Then he saw the man's face, and his body jolted in shock. 

“Hodge!"

Isabelle heard the name over the din, twirling around to where she heard it come from. Her mouth opened in horror as she saw the man from their past run up to clash with Jace. What was he doing here? Why was he working with the agents? She saw that Hodge was half stone, something she had never seen him do before and her mouth fell open in shock. She quickly shook it off, her mind running on full cylinders as she thought about what his mutation may mean for Jace.

 Stone would easily be the only thing besides water that Jace couldn’t hold his own with in a fight, and it looked like Hodge could turn his whole body to stone! Jace’s fire would do nothing, just like Izzy’s claws and kicks would do nothing.

“Alec, Jace is in trouble!” She screamed, watching as her older brother’s gaze turn to where Jace was, his eyes widening as he saw who it was that had the upper hand against Jace. Hodge was easily beating Jace backwards, pushing him towards the building’s wall behind the team.

Alec was a little ways off to the left of where Hodge seemed to be trying to corner Jace, but there were so many agents in the way. He felt a stun gun blast whiz by his arm, grazing it and making the skin around it numb. How would he get through in time?

He saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eye and he turned to see Clary clawing her way over to Jace, screaming the blonde’s name as she sent each agent approaching her flying back with any limb she slammed in their direction. Then he saw Isabelle doing the same, he face fierce as she tried to get to Jace’s side.

He heard Luke, Simon and Magnus pull in next to him, their presence only a mild comfort as he watched Hodge use a stone foot to send Jace sprawling, his back making contact with the wall behind it with a sickening thud, somehow managing to stay standing.

Confused, Alec watched the agents pull away from where Jace and Hodge stood, as if clearing the way. It did leave  Alec and those with him clear for the moment. Something was going to happen, and Alec tried to call out a warning but it was too late.

“Now!” Hodge called out at the same time that both Isabelle and Clary dove at Jace, both of them jumping in the spot he stood and pushing him away with their combined strength sending him flying to where Alec was with the others.

They all watched as a dome of light surrounded the girls, trapping them inside. They beat on the walls, but no sound was heard.

“Oh my god,” Simon whispered, “They’re trying to catch us.”

Clary was frantic inside the trap, slamming her hand against the surface and pointing at them as she mouthed something at them. It was Magnus who realized what she was trying to say.

“Portal!” he gasped, and looked behind them to see a portal waiting for them, left there by Clary before she went after Jace.

“She wants us to leave?” Alec asked, horrified, “We can’t leave them, Izzy’s in there too!”

Luke was distraught. The girl who he had raised as his own was trapped and screaming for him to leave, and he knew that there was no way for them to get out of this if they all stayed. He had never hated himself more than he did in that moment, and he had a lot to hate himself over.

He grabbed Simon and Magnus by their shirt collars and threw them back in to the portal.

The agents started yelling, pulling their stun guns up and getting ready to fire.

“Don’t let him get away!” was the last thing they heard Hodge yell before Luke pulled Jace and Alec through he portal with him, the scene disappearing in a swirl of color.

* * *

 

“Fuck!” Hodge screamed, his face turning red as he paced in front of the dome that contained the two girls. He didn’t pay them much mind, refusing to face the brunette inside. It had been many years since he had last seen her, but he would recognize Isabelle Lightwood anywhere.

He stomped over to the other side of the street where a trembling young woman stood, her hands held up as she kept the dome steady black inky lines branching over her face and neck.

“Why didn’t you create another trap!” he barked at the mutant, “We wanted the blond one!”

Tears started to stream down her face, “I’m sorry, I can only do one at a time! It would take an hour before I would be able to form another forcefield. I figured you’d be less angry if I kept the two I caught,” she cried, “Please don’t put me back in that thing. I promise I’ll get him next time! Please! I don’t want to go back!”

He shook his head angrily, “Get those girls in the suppressors and load them in the truck. We’re heading back,” he called to the agents before turning back to the woman, “As for you. You’ll be lucky if we even bother putting you back. Mr. Morgenstern will not be pleased.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy a second round on me! Comments and Kudos much appreciated, they help keep me motivated!!!!!!!!

“Mr. Starkweather, I am not pleased.”

Hodge drew in a long breath and nodded, his parade rest stance stiff as Valentine circled around him like an animal stalking its prey, “I gave you everything you needed to bring Jace in! I sent people out to spread rumors of a mutant hiding in an old facility. I gave you explosives to draw in Luke’s team. I gave you as many agents as you desired. I had specialists confirm it would be a Psychic and Feral proof set up. I even gave you one of my prized collection pieces to trap them, and yet you still failed!”

The last part Valentine got in his face, bits of saliva flying out of his mouth and peppering Hodge’s face.

“It wasn’t a total loss, Sir. We’ve got the Lightwood girl, we can use her as bait. And the other girl we can use for luring in Luke. You’ve been after him for years, now’s our chance to pull in both him and Jace,” Hodge reasoned.

Valentine sneered, “I trained Jace better than that. He would know never to put himself in danger to rescue someone else.”

“And yet he ran off after you pinned the death of a child on him,” Hodge bit back, immediately regretting saying anything as the madness in Valentine’s eyes lit up like a beacon.

“Yes, he does believe that, doesn’t he? I wonder what he would do if he knew that it had been you that told me about his little friends in the first place?” he said, his voice almost sounding gleeful at the idea, “What would the lovely Isabelle think if she found out what happened to her little brother was because the nice man who visited Jace from time to time turned them all in? Should we go tell her now and see? She was a smart girl as I recall though, perhaps she's already figured it out.”

Shame flooded Hodge, hot and burning even after almost a decade. He had loved those children. He knew what Valentine was doing with all those kids, but it didn’t stop him from bonding with Jace when Valentine had him check up on his son every few months. And it certainly didn’t stop him from liking the Lightwoods when he caught Jace playing with them after curfew that one night. He truly had loved them too. Their laughter had been all that made him smile during those days, and even now during his darkest moments of his imprisonment, he would look to memories of them to feel alive again. But, those memories were a double edged sword knowing what had happened to them. What had happened because of him.

Max. Hodge always felt empty inside when he thought about what had happened to the little boy, but he had no choice at the time. If he hadn’t proven his loyalty to Valentine that day, he would have been where the boy was now.

Hodge swallowed back his eight years of guilt, “What do you want me to do, Sir?”

Slowly Valentine sat back down at his desk chair, a hand rubbing over his mouth as he pondered.

“If Jace is as corrupted as you believe, then he will make an attempt to retrieve the Lightwood girl. Meanwhile, have the labs draw some blood for testing of the girls. Have your men ready, and if anything goes wrong this time…I have a spot in my collection just for you.”

* * *

“How could you have us leave them?!”

“We have to go back, now!”

“I told you this was a trap!”

“What were you thinking?”

“Enough!” Luke bellowed. The level of volume in the room shot down to silence, but the anger was still a boiling pot about to overflow, “I made a call, and as far as I know right now it was the right one. If we had stayed we would all be in the hands of Circle Corp, and who would save our asses then?”

Luke made sure to look each of his remaining team in the eye, “How would you protect your sister locked up beside her?” he asked the Elementals, watching both of them deflate a fraction at the question, “How pissed off would Clary be if we didn’t use the portal she made?” he tossed at Simon and Magnus.

“How pissed off would Clary be if she found out you ignored me when I said we had a mole in our team? Huh, Luke?” Simon challenged, his face becoming red with simmering anger, “How pissed would she be if it turned out the person she was trying to save didn’t need to be saved in the first place?”

Alec frowned as he listened, moving up to the irate Molecular.

“What are you talking about?”

Simon rounded on him, finger jabbing at his chest, “You know damn well what I’m talking about! You’re all probably in on this together or did Jace not tell you that Valentine was his fucking father?” he yelled, “Yeah, I saw your file in the database!” he shouted at Jace, pleased to see the Elemental flinch.

All the color fell from Jace’s face, the fire Elemental taking a few steps back from the others, arms crossing over his chest as if to protect himself from an oncoming attack. Alec knew that look, knew that his brother was about to take whatever abuse was about to come as if he deserved it. He stepped in front of Jace, doing his best to use his large frame to keep Jace out of the direct line of fire before this got any uglier.

“Simon—” Luke started wearily, but Magnus cut him off, his face full of hurt as he looked in to Alec’s eyes.

“Did you know about this?” he asked, not wanting to believe that the person who he had shared a part of his very self with could be tied to Valentine, the madman responsible for all the pain in their lives. Alec’s mouth opened and closed a few times, unsure how to start, but Magnus could see it in his face. Alec had known all along. Horror dawned on Magnus’s face, it was like a knife cutting through his heart. The expression created a similar feeling in Alec’s chest, hating that they caused Magnus to look at them like that.

“Magnus, I’m sorry. We didn’t want to tell anyone yet because we thought you would react this way,” Alec pleaded.

Magnus’s face hardened to stone, “React what way? Betrayed at knowing we took in and cared for Valentine’s spawn? Angry that you all tricked us and have probably been spying on us this whole time?”

“No! We’d never do that!” Alec protested, panic rising like bile in his throat, “Do your empathy thing, see that I’m not lying, we’d never work for Valentine!”

Jace nodded frantically, “Please, just let me try to explain! I never wanted anyone hurt because of me!”

“Explain what? How you planned to turn us all in to daddy dearest? That whole mission was a trap for us, wasn’t it?” Simon said, his face almost purple now as he got in Alec’s face, shoving him hard enough that he fell back against Jace who caught him, only barely keeping him upright.

Luke cursed and pulled Simon back, keeping him away from starting something more violent, “Listen to me! Use your head, think of the logic behind what you’re accusing Jace of! You have eyes, you saw that it was Jace they were trying to catch, the girls just got in the way. All their focus was on getting him in to that trap. Why would they do that if he was a mole?”

Simon’s chest rose and fell heavily as he tried to calm himself to listen to Luke and think about what it was that he had saw. Magnus did the same, but things weren’t exactly adding up.

“Fine, you want to explain? Do it. Tell us why we shouldn’t throw you and your so-called brother off this mountain and leave you for wolf snacks,” the Psychic bit out, refusing to look at Alec.

Alec and Jace exchanged glances, the taller male silently asking if Jace was able to handle this and Jace seeing if his brother was alright after being shoved. The blond righted Alec, making sure he was stable on his feet before stepping in front, eyes on the floor in shame.

Alec’s heart panged in sympathy, wishing that Jace didn’t have to do this. Valentine was like a dark cloud that followed Jace wherever he went. Whenever the smallest bit of sunshine seemed to make it in to their lives, that cloud would suddenly appear again, making everything cold and depressing again. It was a constant reminder to all of them that their lives could never be normal. Being close to Jace meant they were stuck under the same cloud, but Alec and Izzy never thought twice about staying. Jace had been all the sunshine they needed.

Jace’s eyes were rimmed red when he glanced up, seeing if the others were listening. He should have seen this coming. He swallowed hard before he started.

“Valentine is my father, I wish I could deny it. I wish it wasn’t true, but it is. He raised me to be a monster, a soulless robot to do his bidding. I was one of the first he experimented on. He said it would prevent me from becoming sick like my mother, but I think he was lying. I think he knew the treatments would turn me in to a freak for him to use for his own benefit. I grew up at a facility, I kept to myself mostly until Alec arrived. He taught me what it meant to have a loving family, he never gave up on me, even when they killed Max because of me,” Jace choked on the last part, feeling that he didn’t deserve to have that name on his tongue.

“Who’s Max?” Simon asked.

“Alec and Izzy’s little brother,” Jace whispered, sounding heartbroken.

“Jace, you know that wasn’t your fault. It was Valentine who did that. Max was killed because we were trying to escape,” Alec said softly. He felt Alec’s hand rest on his shoulder and Jace shivered thinking he didn’t deserve the comfort.

Jace shook his head, “Valentine killed him because I was friends with you and I had the stones to betray him. I know you don’t think I’m to blame, but I am!”

“What happened next?” Luke prodded gently.

Jace drew in a long breath, preparing himself for what he had held on to for the last eight years, “We ran. Max’s body probably wasn’t even cold yet, but we couldn’t stay. If we did Valentine would have gone for Alec or Izzy next. He would use them as tools to teach me a lesson. We knew Valentine would come for me, so we hid as best we could. So…so many times I wanted to run away. I knew that by staying with Alec and Izzy I was putting them in danger, but no matter how many times I tried…I couldn’t leave. I’ve been so selfish, and weak. I didn’t want to be alone again,” Jace started to cry, hot tears falling down his face, “It’s my fault Clary and Izzy were taken. I’m so sorry.”

Alec’s very soul was aching for his brother. He had no idea that Jace had wanted to leave in order to protect them, and he was elated that it had never happened. Jace belonged with them. He tried to pull Jace back to embrace him, but his brother pulled away as if burned, his head hung in shame. He didn’t think he deserved comfort after all he’d done.

Magnus was starting to understand a bit, but it was doing nothing to alleviate the sting of having been lied to by the people they had welcomed in their home. Jace’s story while tragic, and seemingly true if his emotions were enough of an indicator, it still wasn’t enough for the Psychic.

“So, I’m understanding now why it was that you three went above and beyond when it came to hiding yourselves. Normal mutants we pick up aren’t self imposed in poverty like you all seemed happy to do. You were being hunted. You’re still being hunted, by Valentine of all people, a dangerous madman set on destroying us all. Do you not understand what kind of danger you put us all in unknowingly?” Magnus asked, his voice incredulous.

Alec jumped forward, “We wanted to tell you eventually, we just hoped that you would get to know Jace first! He’s a good person, I—"

“A good person wouldn’t willingly put others in the line of fire like that! He just said himself that he got your little brother killed, and now your sister and Clary are being delivered to Valentine as we sit here listening to him try and justify that! He’s dangerous!” Simon yelled, the words hitting Jace like a physical blow.

Everything Simon was saying was exactly what Jace was thinking in his head. It was taking all his strength to tread in the sea of guilt he was about to drown in. Max was dead because of him. Izzy, who had stood by him for years was about to become another victim to his selfishness, and Clary…Clary deserved so much better and yet he had served her up on a platter for Valentine. It was too much, Jace was a monster, it just took him too long to realize it.

It was beginning to feel like all the oxygen in the room was used up, he had to leave. Now.

Alec saw the signs of Jace’s flight instinct, and dove in to grab his brother, hands closing over his wrists, pulling back when Jace fought to rip away.

  
“No! You can’t leave! Please, you’re not dangerous, we love you and you’re family, Jace!” Alec pleaded, tightening his grip as if holding on to his last lifeline.

Jace continued to try and pull his hands away, “There’s no ‘we’ anymore Alec! I got Max killed and Izzy is next. I’ll kill myself before I let them get to you too! I have to leave. Simon is right, I’m a danger to all of you! I’ll go exchange myself for the girls, maybe he’ll let them go if I turn myself in.”

“Jace, please. We’ll both leave, you don’t have to be alone! We can go save Izzy and Clary together, we’ll be fine!” Alec pleaded, desperately trying to keep his hold on Jace.

The blond was still trying to pull away, the guilt near consuming him as he shook his head at Alec’s cries, “No, you could have a life for once if you stayed here. You could be safe, you’ll have a home, you won’t have to deal with a troublesome stray anymore, you’d have Magnus—"

“You were never a stray!”

“Please, Alec, let me go! Let me do something for you, for once! I’m done being selfish!”

“Okay, that’s enough. Everybody stop!” Luke yelled, stepping up beside Jace, gripping his shoulders and forcing the Elemental to face him, “Jace, you aren’t going anywhere. Being raised Valentine’s is not your fault and you don’t have to suffer because of it. We will get Clary and Isabelle back, but we need your help to do it.”

“Luke, he’s dangerous, haven’t you been listening?” Simon said.

Luke whirled on him, his tall frame imposing on the lean Molecular, “Have you been listening? We help those who can’t help themselves. Jace is just as much a victim in this as Max, Izzy and Clary. We don’t throw victims to the curb because it may be an inconvenience to us.”

“What about the fact they’ve been lying to us this whole time? If they had told us the truth from the start then maybe nobody would have been taken. We could have been prepared,” Magnus said, still refusing to look at Alec.

Alec’s shoulders slumped, “That’s on me. I’m the one who made the call to not say anything, I wanted to wait until you got to know Jace first. He’s not his father, as much as Valentine tried to make him to be. I’m sorry, Magnus. I didn’t want us to lose the first home we ever had.”

Alec hated the way that Magnus was refusing to even look in his direction. They had been so open with each other from the start, he felt stupid now not having trusted Magnus with something like this. He of all people would have been able to feel Jace’s true self under all the bravado, under the guilt, under the pain. Magnus was one of the best things to have ever come in to his life, and Alec may have already ruined it. He may have been trying to protect his siblings, but he should also have been trying to protect his new friends.

Luke sighed as he looked at the tattered remains of his team. Everyone felt hurt and vulnerable, he could smell it on each of them. He felt responsible for the mess that they found themselves in, Jace wasn’t the only one who has hidden secrets that needed to see the light. He needed to fix this, but they didn’t have time.

“You all agreed to have me as the team leader. You put your trust and lives in my hands, and I’m asking you now to believe me when I say that we will get the girls back, but we can only do it together. We need to put aside our personal issues to get through this mess. Now, listen up and act like the damn adults you are. Anyone who interrupts has to go sit in the corner and count until they grow the hell up. Capiche?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So. Much. AAAAAAngst.  
> Also, please comment to help keep me motivated! Gotta get three chapters in before wednesday *eek!*


	8. Loathing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh man, you guys are amazing!!! With all the encouragement I was able to bust out 4 chapters when my goal was three :D   
> As a gift for all the helpful comments and kudos, I'm posting two chapters today. Normally I post on Friday, but I actually won't be able to reach a computer tomorrow or saturday. So enjoy and thank you!!!!

The cell they were being kept in would have amused Simon to no end. It looked like it was literally pulled from any cheesy sci fi movie, all white with one large glass wall for them to peer out of. Well, maybe it wasn’t glass, surely Izzy’s multiple attempts at kicking it would have resulted in at least a crack by now if it was really glass. It was a bit of overkill, seeing as they already had to wear those stupid power suppressor collars anyway, but Clary supposed that with all the different abilities out there Valentine would choose to err on the side of caution.

Clary sighed as she watched the Feral pace back and forth through their cell from where she lay in one of the two stark white cots in the room. They had been here for half a day already, and the only exciting thing that had happened was some dude in a lab coat coming and taking a blood sample from them. Normally Clary would have just spit on the guy and refused, but the guns trained on them were just about enough motivation for her to roll up her own sleeve. She’d rather watch what they were doing with her arm then be unconscious and unsure what exactly was done to her while she was out.

She heard Izzy let out a loud groan followed by another hard kick against the glass, the result only another thud and nothing else. Clary could see the frustration pouring off the Feral like a rainstorm and it was hard for Clary to watch her crumble before her eyes.

Slowly she got up from her cot and made her way over to the once again pacing Feral, making sure her footsteps were loud enough not to startle her. Gently she reached out to grab Isabelle’s hand, halting her movements.

“Hey, you okay?” Clary asked gently, rubbing her thumb soothingly over Izzy's skin. 

Isabelle huffed out a breath, but nodded, “Fine. I’m not hurt or anything, I just really don’t like to be in confined places unless there is an unblocked exit of some kind. Another normal Feral thing I’m guessing?”

Clary nodded, “Yeah, that’s pretty normal unless you were like…a mole Feral or something,” she joked, giggling a little louder at the horrified look in Isabelle’s face.

“Oh my god, I have never been so glad that I got feline DNA. Can you imagine my brothers’ reactions if I had a constant need to dig holes and tunnel around?” the Feral laughed, glad to let some of the rising tension in her shoulders out, “Smallest mercy that the facility could have shown me I guess.”

_“Is mercy all that you wanted, Isabelle? I would say that having saved you and your brothers from a terrible disease was mercy enough.”_

The girl’s heads whipped around at the new voice coming from the other side of the glass wall. The figure standing there made Isabelle gasp out loud, her eyes narrowing as the gasp turn outward in to a hiss. The man looked less than impressed and folded his arms over his chest.

“Is that how you would greet an old friend, Isabelle? I seem to remember you have better manners than that,” he said.

“And I seem to remember you not being an evil dick, but well here we are,” she bit back.

Clary’s eyes darted between the two, “Iz, you know this guy?”

A shadow seemed to fall over Isabelle’s face, her normally bright and beautiful face become drawn and haunted, “We did. His name is Hodge Starkweather. He visited us in the facility sometimes, just checking up on Jace at first but we all got to know him over the years. We thought he was our friend, we even worried about him after we ran, but it’s obvious now that he works for Valentine. Did you work for him all along? Tell me! Did you work for the man who killed Max?!” she shot at him accusingly.

Hodge flinched internally, but kept himself composed enough that the girls didn’t notice…or the cameras. This was more difficult than he could ever have imagined. His palms were sweaty, his gut was churning and it was taking every ounce of his self-control to keep his heart rate normal. For years he had carried the guilt over what had happened to the youngest Lightwood, regretting that it was him who brought word to Valentine in the first place that Jace had made friends. And then further condemning himself when he told Valentine that he suspected the children were planning an escape.

He had suffered himself since then, but nothing that had happened was enough to ease the horror at himself for his actions. And now here was Isabelle, a girl who he had adored, back in Valentine’s hands. In Hodge’s hands. His shaking hands.

Dropping his gaze, he crossed his arms over his chest and hiding the slight tremor, “Isabelle, I know that you must hate me with everything--”

“Try loathe, asshole! Extend your vocabulary to it’s maximum for any word I can associate with you,” Isabelle growled.

Hodge’s eyes closed and he took in a deep breath, “…with everything that has happened, but you must understand that I am just trying to survive. Something you, Alec and Jace have always been incredible at doing. I was there to keep an eye on Jace, yes, but I cared about all of you! When I found out that you all were thinking of running away, I was worried more than anything. What would four kids do on the streets? I didn’t know Valentine would do what he did. I promise that I never wanted to hurt any of you. I loved you.  I loved Alec, and Jace and Max…I’m so sorry, Isabelle.”

“You keep my brother’s names out of your mouth,” Isabelle hissed, “You were working for Valentine. You betrayed us. You got Max killed! You don’t get to talk about them so fondly. And if I hear Max’s name pass your lips again I swear I’ll rip them off.”

“I’m not here to go over ancient history with you, I’m here to help you and your friend. Despite what you think of me, I only want what’s best for you,” Hodge said desperately, his shoulders dropping with the weight of guilt that was near consuming him. Clary watched him, wishing she could reach out to analyze his every emotion with a fine tooth comb, but the suppressor kept it all blocked from her. Although, while she was nowhere near as adept at reading human emotions like Magnus, and being without her powers…even she could see the physical burden this was on the man before them.

Cautiously, Clary moved her lithe frame in between the two, making sure she kept closer to the Feral, “Izzy, let’s just hear him out and then he’ll leave. Right?” she asked the last part over her shoulder towards Hodge who nodded.

Isabelle’s skin felt like it was crawling as she stood there, face to face with someone she once called a friend. Once his presence had made them all feel safe, loved even, and now after what she had seen this day she felt sick that she trusted him.

Never before had she felt so confused! Only days ago Luke had told her that she needed to listen to her human instincts, to trust others more easily, to consult her heart and not just her brain…but now she was finding herself wishing that she had never let anyone else in to their lives. Maybe her animal side could have saved Max if she had just listened harder and kept her family isolated? She wanted to scream, but instead she schooled her features and let her inner turmoil remain inner for now.

“Fine. You heard Clary. Speak, then leave.”

Clary squeezed the Feral’s hand and turned herself to face the man before them, “Well then? Tell us how you want to help us.”

There was a small spark of hope in Hodge’s eye as he looked up at them, “I obviously can’t let either of you go, but I can offer advice for both of you that may get Valentine to be gentle. He may even release you himself if he gets what he wants.”

“Advice? That’s your shitty excuse payment for damages done?” Isabelle asked, her voice rising.

“This advice could save your lives! Valentine doesn’t mess around when it comes to getting what he wants, and what he wants right now is Jace. You two can provide him with that. You know where he’s living, you know how to find him and you know how to catch him. And on top of that, you know where Luke Garroway is. That information could buy Little Red here her ticket to freedom. Don’t fight him, it never ends well. Look at me,” Hodge paused, bringing his right hand up before them as it shifted to stone before their eyes, “This is what you get when you try and hide that Jace had friends for three years.”

“He turned you in to a mutant because you let Jace make friends?” Clary asked in horror.

Hodge nodded. Before his mutation, it was his blindness towards Valentine’s true intentions was what bound him to Circle Corp. He had gladly chosen to work for the man because he believed in the program. They were going to save lives! They did save lives…it wasn’t until the mutations started manifesting in the children that Hodge ever doubted what they were doing. They made it so those kids survived, but their existence was bleak after that. Valentine had even taken a few adults in to his programs, but they only had a survival rate of 15% while with the children it was 95%. So much blood had been spilt before they stopped attempting treatment for adults. They never stopped with the children though.

The years that Hodge worked for Valentine, he tried to think of the lives saved over the lives lost. Even when he visited the children he refused to think of anything other than the fact they would have died without treatment. This was a good thing they were doing, Valentine was doing good. So Hodge listened to him, did his bidding, and even told him of his son’s betrayal. It wasn’t until he looked upon the face of little Max, so cold and blank, that he finally told Valentine he was done.

Valentine couldn’t let him just leave though. No, Hodge had done too much, seen too much, learned too much to be allowed out of Circle Corp ever watchful eye. So he had Hodge undergo treatment. Either he died, or he would become a mutant, unable to ever safely exist in public, stuck as a tool in Valentine’s belt.

Sometimes Hodge wished he had just died.

Isabelle’s eyes roamed over the hand, finally coming up to meet Hodge’s gaze, “It’s justice to me. Now you know how it feels to be a freak under Valentine’s hands. You’re trapped just like we were, how does it feel? Bet you regret not running with us. We would have taken you with us.”

“Knowing what I know now, I would have gone. I made a terrible mistake, but I’m here now and I need you to believe me that if you want to get out of here alive, you have to give Valentine what he wants. Run, take Alec and run!”

The Feral scoffed, her eyes becoming sad and shrouded with pity, “You disgust me. Unlike you, I don’t ever plan on betraying family.”

“Jace will be fine, he wouldn’t be killed! Valentine wouldn’t want that. _You_ will be killed if you don’t comply though. And then when they do eventually find Jace, you can bet that Alec will die either protecting him or he’ll be taken here for something worse than death,” Hodge said, his desperation seemed genuine to Clary, but along the periphery of her vision, she could practically see Isabelle’s resolve like a mountain in a storm.

“No. I will never give Valentine anything. Now leave, go live out your pitiful excuse of a life as nothing more than a murderer. Get out of my face, I never want to see you again!” Isabelle shouted, throwing her arm out pointing at the door. Tears were threatening to fall down her cheekbones.

“Isabelle…”

“Leave!”

They watched as Hodge shrank in on himself and walked out the door, the stench of regret following him out, finally letting Clary turn to focus on Isabelle, just imagining how tormented she must feel right now. It was enough that Clary was almost glad for the suppressor, not sure how she would be able to handle to crushing emotions that must be pouring off of her. Not for the first time she wondered how Magnus handled having that channel open at all times.

Isabelle had moved over to the cot, heavily sitting down on it, the sounds of creaking springs filling the room as she dropped her head in to her hands and began to cry.

* * *

 

Hodge walked solemnly out of the room and walked down one door from where the girls were being held, pausing to steel himself before opening it. There stood Valentine, watching as the red headed girl sat beside Isabelle, gathering her up in a hug. The one way glass wall was all that stood between them and the two mutants in the cell.

Hodge moved up next to his boss, his eyes looking straight forward but unfocused. He didn’t want to see Isabelle crying.

“I tried, Sir. She is too loyal,” he said.

“Yes, she is,” Valentine agreed, “I don’t believe she will tell me where Jace is.”

“What do you want me to do?” Hodge asked hesitantly, not wanting to hear an answer.

Seemingly pondering the question, he brought a finger to his lip, tapping it there as he continued to study the girls in the cell. Hodge shivered in disgust at the look in his eyes.

“What do we know about the little red one? Clary, was it? She looks familiar.” he said.

Hodge drew in a breath, “Nothing new. We knew from previous encounters with Luke’s team that she can create portals as well as a few other abilities. Your analysts seem to think she has an ability to mimic other mutations. Not sure about much else, not even how she and Garroway met up. Blood test is still being worked on too. Maybe we’ll figure something out from that.”

Valentine hummed thoughtfully, “Let’s give them a day for the reality of their situation to sink in and for the results to come in. After that…let’s see if little red is as loyal as her Feral friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if you all have noticed....but I am the world's biggest supporter of platonic and non-platonic cuddling between all genders. Cuddling is amazing.


	9. Boxed In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooooooooooooo!!! Another chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy, guys!!!!  
> Also, I hope this clears up a bit of Magnus' reaction from Monday's post, I know a few people were a little thrown by it.

The atmosphere inside the van was stifling to say the least. Magnus had already tugged at his studded jacket collar three times now, wishing he had forgone the jacket all together. After Luke’s metaphorical slap in the face to all of them they had come up with a plan to save the girls, but while they all were mostly focused on the task ahead, there was still a lingering stink of mistrust, anger, fear, remorse, guilt and sorrow that’s cloying presence was similar to a Houston Texas summer all crammed in a van.

Magnus’s eyes slid to the left of him, risking a glance at Alec who was unconsciously leaning more and more over to his left to keep his shoulder pressed up against Jace’s. Meanwhile Jace had been trying to pull further and further away, probably because he didn’t think he deserved the physical support. At this point the two looked like the van was stuck in a constant right-turn, and it would be funny if not for all that had happened.

The van hit a bump, the equipment inside jostling in a synchronized fashion with the abrupt movement while the people bounced along with it. Nobody’s expression had changed, too focused on their own thoughts.

Simon, who was a lovely shade of plum before, was now only a little bit red in the face whenever he glanced Jace’s way. Alec and Jace remained withdrawn and cautious, as if afraid breathing or moving too much would get them kicked out of the van. They wouldn’t meet anyone’s eyes, not even each other’s.

It suited Magnus just fine, he had his own thoughts to sift through and didn’t need, or even want, to talk to anyone presently. He was angry and he was hurt and he felt guilty about both feelings, how was that even fair?

The revelation about Jace’s frankly alarming parentage was not ideal, and Magnus couldn’t help his initial reaction. But looking back…it wasn’t the fact that he was Jace’s father that bothered him. If Jace was truly the spawn of that madman, it would make perfect sense for Magnus to be repulsed by the blond, but he wasn’t. He had only a short few weeks of exposure to the fiery Elemental, but it had been enough for Magnus to see what genuine emotions came from Jace. He truly loved his siblings. He had shown fondness for each of his new housemates at one time or another. There was no sticky feeling of hate or aggression towards any of them. Magnus knew without a doubt that Jace never wished harm on anyone.

This was why Magnus wasn’t mad about Jace’s paternal revelation. No, Magnus was upset because their three new teammates had hidden the information that had led to a disastrous outcome. At least that’s what Magnus was trying to trick himself in to believing. Of course, he was worried sick over Clary and Isabelle, he was horrified that _they_ could have potentially prevented it if they had only known. However, Magnus had to live with the knowledge that those people had been after Jace and the girls had stepped in by their own choice to save him. It was like some sick game of ping-pong in his head over what he wanted to be mad at, and with all this it barely reached the surface of what had hurt the most.

Alec had lied. Alec had lied because he didn’t trust Magnus enough. Alec didn’t trust Magnus. Alec didn’t care about him.

Whatever it was that had been so bright as it began blossoming in Magnus’ chest the last few weeks was quickly shriveling away into his ever-present shadow of doubt that no one would ever fully trust Magnus with themselves. It was just another painful reminder of why Magnus was alone and always would be.

He was one hundred percent ready to give up on any and all chances of Alec loving him as fiercely as Magnus knew he was capable of.

_Well, maybe ninety-nine percent,_ Magnus thought to himself as he thought back a few hours…

* * *

 

**_Three hours ago – Spiral Mountain_ **

  _“Okay, now that we have down the basics of the plan we need to start hashing out the details. Let’s start with how we are going to locate the girls quickly and without alerting any security?” Luke asked the group, his tall stature leaning over the table before them. The surface was covered in layers of maps and diagrams that had been compiled from what they knew about the buildings they could possibly be held in._

_Simon and Magnus sat back in their chairs, opposite side of the table from the Elementals, both with hopeless expressions on their faces._

_“I don’t know, Luke. They’ve got enough firewalls and code trips to make me feel like a seventh-century Mongolian trying to get past the Great Wall. Maybe if it was a limited number of suspected buildings they were being held at, but we literally have over 30 potentials. If we even trip the smallest alert code at any one of those we could risk tipping them off that we’re coming,” Simon said._

_Magnus sighed sadly next to him, “And if these buildings didn’t have so many people inside, mutant or otherwise, I could have possibly traced them, but it would be highly inaccurate at this level. I don’t know what help I’ll be,” he finished bitterly._

_Then Alec suddenly sat up from his slouched position, startling everyone at the table, which made him blush and utter a soft apology, “Sorry, I just…I think I can help. If we can get within about…half a mile of each of these buildings I can detect if Izzy is in one of them. Clary should still be with her.”_

_Luke looked hesitantly impressed, “What would you need to accomplish that?”_

_Alec shrugged, “A helicopter over the buildings would be enough. I can handle the rest.”_

_“Care to share with the rest of the class? Or are you just going to keep us in the dark…again,” Magnus asked._

_The wince followed by the typhoon of guilt that swept through Alec almost made the Psychic feel a little remorse for the harsh words, but he couldn’t bring himself to apologize._

_Alec’s eyes fell in shame, but he stood up and reached in to his pocket. Magnus wasn’t sure what he expected to be in Alec’s hand, but a few acorns were not it. In fact it was moderately anticlimactic in a way that almost made him laugh, but the way Jace’s eyes lit up in hope was enough for Magnus to keep his mouth shut._

_“It’s a trick I’ve been using for a while. It started as a comfort thing, for when I felt alone. I would find some seeds, something small that would go unnoticed, and put them in Izzy’s and Jace’s pockets. If I was worried, I could reach out to those seeds and know exactly where they were. Eventually they caught on, and we started using it for more practical things, like in case we got separated after running from the police who wanted to collect some stray kids off the streets. I’d be able to walk around until I could feel where they had run to and I’d go get them. It’s been a habit ever since that I give them something before something potentially dangerous. I feel better knowing I can find the people I care about. This time…I gave Iz one of the acorns I found. You fly me over the building that has them, I’ll know. And even better, once we’re inside I can take you right to them,” he finished, finally daring to bring his hesitant gaze up to Luke’s._

_The team leader smiled._

* * *

 

_In the end, it had only taken four fly-overs of the helicopter to determine which building the girls were in. Of course, Valentine would want them close, they had just been hoping that it didn’t mean the actual building that the madman himself kept his office. As grim of a discovery that was, it would work in their favor for the plan Luke was concocting._

_After all details were hashed out, and they were just finishing loading the truck to leave, Magnus felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned slowly, knowing exactly who it was, and faced Alec._

_“Hey,” Alec said._

_Magnus glared but offered a sharp nod of acknowledgement._

_Shifting his feet nervously as his eyes darted around at everything but Magnus’ face he continued, “I know you’re mad, and I’m so sorry that I made you feel like that. And I’m sorry for not telling anyone about Jace, I just…” his eyes fell to his feet before finally raising them to meet Magnus’, “I don’t think you want to hear my excuses again, so I truly am sorry for not telling anyone. Especially you.”_

_“Why especially me?” Magnus asked, cautiously._

_“Because despite what you think of me right now, I do trust you. I don’t know why, but…I do. And I wanted to tell you, I was going to tell you…I just waited too long. It’s just….It’s only been us three for so long, I’m trying to learn all over again how to live outside of the little box of what my life has been up until now. I’m scared of going back inside that box, of losing everything, of losing you, but it’s all I’ve known. I’m adjusting, and I hope you know that I do care about you, I’m just absolutely terrible at showing it. Do you think you’ll be able to forgive me?” he asked, eyes big and bright and oh so hopeful. It made Magnus’ heart ache even more._

_“I don’t know yet, Alexander. I would like to forgive and move on, but that doesn’t change the fact that you did keep something important from me, from us, and it put us all in danger. I know you care about your siblings, but I need to know for certain that you care about us too,” Magnus said. Then he walked away._

* * *

 

**Present**

The switch from gravel to pavement under the tires brought Magnus back to himself, peering out the window to see that they were nearing their first stop point, where they would let Jace out of the car. The others realized the same thing and their bodies were slowly awakening with tense movements as they go closer.

Alec was especially stiff, his long and lean body appearing almost wooden next to his increasingly agitated brother.

“You know you don’t have to do this, we can find another way,” Alec whispered to Jace, the blonds bouncing leg freezing at the words.

“This is the best way, Alec, and I’m doing it. It’s my choice, and I’m not backing out. I owe you all at least that,” Jace whispered back.

Alec shook his head, “You don’t owe me anything, Jace.”

“I owe you _everything_ , Alec,” he said firmly as the van came to a stop and he slid open the side door, jumping on to the side of the road. The loose stones crunched under his boots as he turned to look back at those still remaining in the van. Luke peered back from the front, his strong arm coming to rest on the back of the passenger’s seat.

“Okay, remember the plan. When you have everything in place, give us the signal and we’ll move in. We’ll come for you once we have the girls, understand? We _will_ come for you,” Luke said.

Jace gave a sharp nod and slid the door closed. Magnus felt a pang in his chest as Alec’s face fell once he was physically cut off from Jace, only falling more as the van started to drive off, leaving the Elemental behind.

Alec flopped back in his seat, his head hitting the headrest hard as his eyes squeezed shut. It was difficult to watch, and even more difficult for Magnus to feel. Alec had protested heavily at the plan, stating it wasn’t okay to make Jace do this, but he had been beaten out, three against one. Magnus couldn’t help now but wish that there had been a different plan. Seeing Alec this defeated was not something he had ever wanted to witness.

“Alec,” Magnus said, trying to get his attention.

He noticed the way Alec flinched at the name, but he still turned his head over to Magnus.

“Alexander,” he tried again and this time the Elemental’s shoulders relaxed a fraction, “Have faith in Jace. He can do this, and we’ll get him back, I promise.”

“I know we will, because I won’t stop until all three of them are out of there,” Alec said, “I’m just worried about what this will do to Jace. Do to his head…It’s taken years for us to get him to where he can smile and it not be faked. I’d hate myself if he ever went back to before,” Alec admitted softly.

Magnus felt a growing sense of regret and concern from behind him, where Simon sat, the Molecular listening in on everything. A quick glance in Luke’s rearview mirror showed his face was no longer red.

“Anything wrong, Simon?” Luke asked suddenly, picking up on the erratic thud of the young man’s heart.

Simon startled, his head shooting up as he glanced over at Alec, a sense of shame around him, “Uh, no. Everything is fine, I just…” he turned to the Elemental, “Was it really that bad for him? I mean, Valentine is a psycho, but surely he didn’t hurt his own son, right?”

It was an innocent question, but Alec wanted to shout, rant, and curse in response. It was assumptions like that, that made Alec hesitate to tell anyone about Jace in the first place, but he reined in his anger like a wild horse, pulling back until it was finally under control enough and penned away. No, they didn’t understand, but Alec just needed to talk and teach them to understand. This was how he was supposed to live, outside of his little box, not shutting out those who didn’t understand at first glance.

Alec drew in a calming breath, “It was because Jace was his son that everything he did to him was even crueler. Valentine didn’t hold back because Jace was his son, it made him push harder. He wanted complete control over Jace at any cost. He isolated him, experimented on him, tortured him, and brainwashed him. When I met Jace, he was a shell of the person he is now and to this day I’m amazed at what a good person Jace has become despite everything that has happened to him. I’m just worried that what he’s about to do will bring up all those demons from before. When Valentine was in control.”

The van got quiet, the only sound was the engine and the wind outside as Simon absorbed what Alec had said.

“I’m sorry,” he said suddenly, “I was just so mad that Clary got in the middle of all this, and I’ve just hated Valentine for so long I couldn’t separate Jace from him once I saw that file. I’m still a little pissed that you guys didn’t tell us, but I get it. Not everyone likes to air their dirty laundry the second they move in with their roommates,” he finished lamely, but the confession brought a small smile to Alec’s face.

“Ain’t that the truth,” Luke muttered to himself from the front seat, watching behind him as the three young men in the back finally started to breath easily for the first time that day.

* * *

 

It had been a challenge, finding a payphone in this day and age, but Simon had located a few within moderate walking distance from where Jace had been dropped off. The walk had been good for him, it gave him time to prepare himself for what was to come. Mindlessly, his fingers ran over the buttons on his watch, eyes glancing at the time like a nervous tick.

Alec and Izzy had given him over a decade of love, support and protection and it was his time to pay up. He had no regrets about what he was about to do, but still as he stood there in front of the living fossil of technology, he hesitated.

It was only fear, he knew that. He was scared of what was about to happen, whether he succeeded or failed, this was not going to be easy.

Then he thought about his siblings faces. He thought about Max’s face.

He picked up the phone and slid in the coins, dialing the number Simon had scribbled on to some paper for him and raised the receiver to his ear.

With each ring his heart sped up until he was sure he would see it beating visibly under his shirt, and then someone picked up.

_“You’ve reached the Brooklyn branch of Circle Corporation; how may I direct your call?”_

“My name is Jace Morgenstern. I want to speak to my father, Valentine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully that clears things up ;) You know Magnus and Simon are too kind to be mad for long!


	10. Impatience

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot plot plot, moving on with the plot. Thanks again for all the comments and kudos!!!! 
> 
> Just finished the outline for story 4, it will probably be a bit longer than the first three, so that's really exciting. I'd been agonizing for over a week on what the hell I could do for a fourth, and then it came to me all at once, three pages of notes XD

It had been almost a whole day stuck in the cell, and Clary could see that Isabelle was almost at wits end. Prowling around the room she would find some new way to fidget after about an hour, any way to expel the nervous energy that had been brewing since they were put in there.

First it was crossing her arms and tapping her fingers on her bicep, then it was running a hand through her hair, then she was rolling an acorn between her fingers, then it was chewing her bottom lip. By the time it looked like Isabelle was about to gnaw through her skin, Clary had decided that enough was enough.

“Iz, why don’t you sit down for a bit?”

Isabelle’s head whirled around, her hair falling so elegantly around her shoulders it looked like a shot from a shampoo commercial and Clary made a mental note to ask her what product she used after all this was done.

She hesitated, but finally moved to sit on the opposite cot. She sat still for about quarter of a minute before her toe started tapping. Clary’s eye twitched.

This situation was not ideal, even Clary could admit that, but thinking back on what landed her here in the first place she couldn’t see any other way. The Lightwoods had all wormed their way in to the hearts of the team, even before their decision to join.

The elation that she felt when she saw the immediate connection between Alec and Magnus was almost overwhelming. In the years she had known Magnus, through the many different lovers, paramours, and significant others, this was something special. There was just something about the chemistry between the two that promised something explosive and incredible. Both of them were like puzzle pieces that had a thousand jagged edges brought on by years of abuse, pain, and suffering in two very different ways. People with that intricate of a puzzle piece almost never could find another to fit seamlessly, but here it was in Clary's opinion. They might not see it, but Clary did. It would take a couple turns of both pieces before they found the spot where they would lock together forever, but the possibility remained if they kept trying.

Isabelle was an addition that Clary didn’t even realize she needed in her life. It wasn’t just having another girl around to break up the wall of testosterone she lived with, it was having a strong female around to prove to Clary she could kick it out there on the same level as the boys, she just needed confidence. Isabelle would help her reach that level in time.

And Jace…Clary hid the blush that rose on her cheeks by ducking her head down to inspect the patch of mud on her shoe. Jace was just like his element, a sudden spark that was growing in to a flame, bright, beautiful, heated, and a little wild. It was bringing out a side to herself that she didn't even know she had. Clary was kind of glad that their first meeting had been while he was busy being concerned over a comatose Alec, otherwise she isn't sure she would have seen the true caring and sensitive person beneath all the overload of compensational swagger. She probably would have written him off if it wasn't for that brief glimpse past his carefully constructed facade, but she had to wonder why he felt he had to put it up in the first place.  

In any way, Clary was ecstatic over having new teammates, even if they were a little rough around the edges to start with. Simon liked to joke about how they took in three wild strays, but he wasn’t that far off. These three siblings were untamed by society and more adept at survival than most. It made them all unpredictable, like they were bringing home a new cat and being unsure if it will scratch when startled.

Clary hadn’t been scared off though, if anything she was further drawn in to the mystery that was Jace Lightwood. Even if the Lightwoods were strays, she wasn’t afraid of being scratched. She felt safe with them, with Jace…she didn’t know why. Magnus would probably be able to pin the tail on the proverbial donkey on why, but this was something she wanted to discover for herself.

Still though, just how much was there to discover? Hodge had mentioned Jace multiple times, why would Valentine want him? The thought kept playing through her mind along with the memory of those agents all ganging up on the Elemental. They wanted him, Clary and Izzy had just gotten in the way. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why. Sure, Jace had a cool ability, probably capable of a lot damage, but so was Alec’s mutation and they didn’t try to get him.

A loud sigh from across the room tore Clary from her musings. Clearly she wasn’t the only one in this cell with too much on their mind.

“Iz…I know that was rough, with Hodge and all that. Did you want to talk about it?” Clary offered the agitated Feral.

The Feral tossed the idea around her head. Yes, she did want to talk about it, but the story wasn’t really hers to tell, was it? Anything she said would point to Jace’s private past, and she worried about how Clary would react, and how everyone else would react upon Clary inevitably telling them.

On top of that, Isabelle would have to be blind not to have seen the genuine interest that Jace had been showing in the pretty Psychic. It had been the first time that she had ever witnessed Jace interested in anyone besides himself and his siblings, and Izzy was both thrilled and terrified. She would hate herself if she was the one to ruin potentially the best thing that had happened to Jace, and to all of them really.

But this girl before her was amazing in her abilities as she was in her heart. She had been nothing but sweet and patient with all of them. Alec’s somewhat dour personality hadn’t even phased her, she had taken it all in stride, even going as far as to bring Alec some treats that she had baked. And Isabelle’s heart sang in joy at not only having another female around, but one that was kind and loved gossip and loved shoes…and who didn’t seem mentally capable of hurting any of them despite her impressive array of abilities.

This girl was the first one to draw not only Jace’s gaze, but also his heart. That had to mean something.

_“Let your animal instincts protect you, but let your human instincts guide you.”_

“Clary, I think I need to tell you something. Normally I’d let this come from Jace, but I think you need to know.”

* * *

 

“My son, I’m so happy to see you. You look good, healthy, strong,” Valentine preened as he circled Jace. His voice sounded cheerful, but to someone who had known the man for years like Jace had, there was a tremor of fury beneath his coddling words, “It’s been so long, I have missed you.”

Jace kept his face carefully blank, his spine ramrod straight, and his eyes laser focused forward. The soldier’s perfect stance, or a mimic of a robot depending on which voice in his head Jace wanted to listen to. Being so near his father again made his soul feel slimy and every cell in his body wanted to run away and never look back, but he held fast by picturing the faces of Clary and Izzy in his mind. He was doing this for them. The only part of him that moved was his finger that was held behind his back, nervously twisting his watch around his wrist.

He refused to even glance at Hodge, who was standing to the side of the room ready to step in if he felt Valentine was threatened.

“Hello, Father,” Jace said dully, no intonation to give away any emotion he was feeling.

The smile on Valentine’s face as he sat back down at his desk never faded as he gazed upon the young man before him, “Now Jace, as happy as I am to see you here, of your own free will might I add, I have to ask why you’re here after running all these years. I would be a fool if I wasn’t a bit suspicious at your sudden return. Especially since I happen to have two of your _little friends_ in my cells as we speak.”

Jace steeled himself. _Show time,_ he thought and let the smallest crack appear in his blank façade. Valentine watched as his son’s eyes watered momentarily before the moisture vanished with a forceful blink.

Jace cleared his throat, “Garroway kicked me out. They found out who I am and decided that I couldn’t be trusted. That I was dangerous.”

Valentine snorted, “That’s all it took to have you come crying back to Daddy? I must say Jace, that’s mildly disappointing. I thought those Lightwood brats would have at least made you slightly more stubborn simply by association. That Isabelle creature may have succeeded in tearing Hodge here a new orifice, but I guess you didn’t pick up on her spunkiness. Shame,” he said, but didn’t actually sound bothered, “And what of dear Alec? What did he have to say about being kicked out?”

This time Jace let a tear fall, “They offered and he chose to stay. Said he was sick of having to hide because of me,” _pause for effect,_ “He said he lost both his siblings because of me. He said he hated me.”

His voice cracked on the word hate, the very idea hurting Jace in ways he couldn’t describe.

“So I came back here. I’m a monster, I killed his brother and I got his sister taken from him. I don’t deserve to be around anyone. The only use I’ve ever been to anyone is as your son, so I came back. Please, Father, I’m so sorry for leaving. I’ll never run again.”

Valentine’s eyes scanned over every inch of him, boring in to his skin to detect any trace of a lie. He rubbed a hand over his face and stood, “Alright, Hodge see to it that my son finds suitable accommodations until we can verify his loyalty.”

Hodge nodded sharply and place a stone hand on Jace’s shoulder, “Yes, Sir.”

Valentine suddenly paused, "Oh, one moment. I have one last thing for my son."

Jace didn't even see the fist coming for his gut, too busy trying to focus his eyes on nothing. He doubled over as it felt like Valentine punched the air straight from his lungs, the familiar sensation from his childhood no less painful with age. Coughing and sputtering as he tried to draw breath, he felt Hodge grip his shoulder tightly as Valentine leaned down to whisper in to his ear, " _Never_ cry in front of me again. I will not have some weak sniveling brat walk around calling himself my son."

Jace nodded, still gasping for air. 

"That'll be all for now, Hodge. Take him to his room."

Jace didn’t fight it, he let himself be let from the room, happy to finally be out of sight of his father. However, being next to Hodge as his old friend walked him down the hall, was another kind of pain that Jace wasn’t prepared for. It was obvious Hodge worked for Valentine at this point, and he had to assume that this had always been the case. Hodge never really was their friend, he was just someone his father used to keep tabs on him.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” he said hoarsely, finally getting his breathing under control.

Hodge flinched, already knowing what Jace was asking, “I didn’t mean for any of you to get hurt, Jace.”

Jace snorted, “Well, guess that just makes it all better,” he said bitterly, rubbing his tender abdomen gently. 

“Jace, don’t make this any worse than it is. I know you’re lying,” Hodge whispered in his ear, eyes darting to the sides, “I don’t know what you’re up to, but this is dangerous! He has Isabelle! The moment he senses something is off, he’s going to use her like he did Max. Just stop and accept that you’re back here to stay. Please, I don’t want to see any more of you hurt,” he said.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Hodge, but I’d suggest you stop trying to be my friend before I burn off all your skin starting with your face,” Jace said, his voice full of venom.

Hodge ignored him, “You didn’t bring Alec in to this, did you? Is he safe?”

Anger brimming over the top of his threshold of emotion, Jace ripped out of Hodge’s grip and turned on him, face red, “You don’t get to pretend to care about us! Not when you let him kill an innocent child! Not when you helped him hunt down three other innocent children like animals for years! You’re no better than him, and you don’t deserve to have even known people as good and caring as Alec and Izzy. You don’t deserve to have any memories of Max smiling at you. You don’t deserve anything, so back off and just do your damn job. It’s all you’re capable of anyway.”

Hodge swallowed thickly before pressing a button on a panel on the wall, the action opening a door in to what looked like a small room with no windows.

“This is where you’ll be staying until your story has been verified by whatever Psychic Valentine pulls from him collection. First I have to do a search on you,” Hodge said blankly and gestured for Jace to enter the room.

The room was quiet as Hodge quickly ran his hands up and down Jace’s form, patting pockets and removing his shoes, and pulling up shirt sleeves.

“Since when do you wear a watch?” Hodge asked suspiciously.

Jace rolled his eyes, “Since I found it necessary to document how much of my life you’re wasting with your useless presence.”

Roughly, Hodge removed the watch, unlatching the clip and sliding it over Jace’s wrist, “I’m going to have to take this.”

Jace shrugged, “Fine, but you’ll owe me four hundred bucks.”

Hodge gave him a withering look before stepping out of the room, the door sliding shut behind him with a soft hiss. Finally, Jace felt like he could breathe again. Heavily he fell on the bed, not caring that it rumpled the perfect military style folded sheets beneath him. He felt like a wet sock that had been wrung out and stretched too far, if that even was a feeling. He'd have to ask Magnus later, that is if Magnus was talking to him again.

Subtly he let his eyes roam over the room, looking for any camera. There was what could be a small camera off to the left side of the doorframe, so he made sure his movements were small and natural looking as he ran his hand across the back of his neck, dislodging one of the two small seeds from Alec that Magnus had stitched in to the collar of his shirt.

With it hidden in between his fingers, he crunched the seed with his knuckles before bringing his fist up to his mouth to cover a fake yawn. He swallowed the sunflower seed, and lay back to wait.

* * *

 

 It just looked like a normal watch. Hodge couldn’t for the life of him figure out the significance of it. The time was accurate, the watch was a current brand, the buttons functioned normally. What could it possibly be?

He knew that some of the scientists would be able to open it up and see exactly what it was, if there was anything to find, but something stopped him from going down to the labs.

It was guilt and he damn well knew he deserved to feel guilty. If they did find something they would tell Valentine and Jace and Izzy would be in trouble. Again. He didn’t think his conscience could bear another load like that on his soul.

Seeing the hate burn in the eyes of the children he adored was more painful than the process of being turned in to a mutant. He loved those kids. He hated Valentine.

Silently, Hodge tossed the watch in to a nearby garbage can, keeping out of view of the cameras.

Somehow it didn’t ease the guilt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have some sappy Malec moments, yay!


	11. Shaking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise!!!! Yet another extra chapter this week. I've been on a roll with my self imposed deadlines and I was able to get an extra one done, so as a reward for the continued amazing support through comments and kudos I'm posting this chapter today, and Friday's will still be posted regularly as well. Thanks again!!!
> 
> Here's one for the Malec fans!!!

A half a mile away from Circle Corp Headquarters, a van full of mutants sat inconspicuously in the parking lot of the nearby grocery store. The mundane people moved in and out of their cars, arms full of bags and too focused on loading their trunks to take note of the large vehicle that sat under the lamppost.

Magnus sighed longingly, wishing he could be that carefree. The bustle of low key emotions was somewhat of a balm on his over stimulated sensory receptors. The highest ping he felt on his radar was some lady’s frustration as she realized she forgot something inside the store and went back in.

With a groan, Magnus moved out of the passenger chair and walked to the back where Alec, Simon and Luke were all hunched over in their chairs, their tired faces looking wan in the computer lit area. He felt how nervous Alec was, but resisted placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. He wasn’t sure where they stood at the moment and he didn’t know if his comfort was even something that Alec wanted.

“Anything?” Magnus asked quietly, his voice still sounding too loud in the cramped van.

“First signal was sent twenty minutes ago,” Alec replied hoarsely.

Magnus nodded, puffing out a relieved breath, and pulled another chair out to sit in, joining the others in their vigil. Luke’s eyes were watching Alec for any indication of the second signal going off, while Simon typed madly away at his keyboard trying to get the lay of the land before the next step. The first signal was the one that they had all been the most worried about. Simon had given Jace a watch that would send out a virus with the push of a button that would enable Simon to seamlessly enter in to the buildings’ security controls.

* * *

 

_**A few hours prior** _

_“Think of it like an airborne illness. This virus will work the same way for a wifi based network like Valentine’s. People used this kind of thing in coffee shops to break in to someone else’s computer all the time. Easy to steal data, and easy to sneak in some code when no one notices. Only reason we can’t do this all the time is because of what happened all those years ago when that virus first destroyed the database, busted their security and released all us mutants. They made it so that the network is all broken up by sections or departments really, so any one section that goes down…the rest will be fine.”_

_“So why are we using it this time if they can prevent us from gaining access to the whole building?” Jace asked the Molecular._

_Luke stepped up beside Simon, “Because we never had you before, Jace.”_

_Jace’s face scrunched up in confusion, “I’m lost here. You guys know I master in flames, not code, right?”_

_Luke leaned down, his eyes soft, warm and apologetic, “You’re more than just your ability, I hope you know that.  And you're more than your relations too, but right now it's your relation to Valentine that is going to help us, you’re the only one among us that would be brought right to him upon entering that building.”_

_Jace shivered, “So?”_

_“Valentine’s office is the only room in that entire building that has access to the entire network. You get in to that room, press a button, release the virus….and we’re in. That will be our first signal.”_

* * *

 

Now they just had to wait for the second signal, the one that would be Jace saying that he was safe or the one that would tell them he was in immediate danger. Magnus could see Alec’s eyes, glazed as they stared at the floor, his hands folded before his mouth as he stretched his senses out, waiting...

It was almost as agonizing to watch as it was to feel, the wretched worry and anticipation all colluding in to a soul gripping anxiety that cloyed at the senses. Magnus couldn't help feeling upset for Alexander, and he scooted his seat slightly closer to him as if the proximity alone to another may help him.

* * *

 

_**A few hours prior** _

_“Two seeds, one sunflower and one pumpkin. Smashing the sunflower means you’re safe. Smashing the pumpkin means you’re in immediate danger,” Alec said as he handed them to Magnus to start sewing in to the hem of the shirt Jace would wear._

_Jace raised an eyebrow._

_“Don’t look at me like that, it’s all I could find last minute. Just be glad the pantry even had un-roasted seeds available,” Alec scolded._

_“No acorn this time?” Jace asked, half joking. Normally the acorn thing was a comforting thing for Alec alone, but Jace couldn't help but think of how he'd like his own comfort of having Alec know exactly where he was. At least if he only had to smash one, he'd have the other for Alec to track._

_Alec shook his head, “No, too big and would be noticed in a body search.” His eyes were on Magnus as he spoke, watching the Psychic as he worked diligently on the shirt. Guilt and shame was eating him up inside and while looking at Magnus made it hurt even more, he felt he deserved the pain._

_He felt Jace’s hand gently grab his wrist, his head ducked low so he could catch Alec’s gaze._

_“Everything is going to be okay, Alec,” he said._

_“You don’t know that, Valentine has hurt you before.”_

_Jace’s eyes rolled playfully, but Alec could see the real pain behind them, “It’s going to be okay, you worry too much. But I wasn’t just talking about the mission. I’m talking about Magnus. It’s going to be okay, he’ll come around. He’d be stupid to pass up a chance at a guy like you. Just last week I heard him telling Clary how he’s been resisting the urge to climb you like a tree.”_

_Alec snorted and smiled, “Another plant joke, now? Really?”_

_From a distance Luke watched the exchange fondly._

_“I’m going to have to order that boy every seed packet on the internet when this is over,” he muttered to himself. The pumpkin and sunflower seeds were rather ridiculous._

* * *

 

The memory played itself over and over in his head, but Alec couldn’t bring himself to smile again. It was agony waiting for the second signal. Every moment that passed was another second he had no idea what was happening to Jace. What if he couldn’t get to a seed before they hurt him? What if they took his clothes? What if they were just sitting here doing nothing while they were doing god knows what to his siblings?

He could feel his breath start to speed up and his heart was doing it’s damned best to get some sort of speeding ticket in his chest. A break of sweat started to form on his face.

“Alec, are you okay?”

Alec’s head shot up at Magnus’ voice, eyes wide.

“Um, fine. No signal yet,” he said. He could feel his hands begin to shake and his body began to feel warm all over.

Magnus sighed, “Let’s not have any more lies, Alec. You look terrible, have you eaten anything?”

Alec winced at the accusation and then froze as he thought back. He hadn’t eaten since Jace had forced some granola bars in to him before they left in the van. That was over 6 hours ago now.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lie, it’s just a habit to say I’m okay,” he said.

Magnus knew as much, but didn’t comment on it again, he was just being bitter at this point and he knew it. Alec was going through enough and didn’t need Magnus adding drama on top of it, so he reined in his attitude as best he could. He pulled out a bag from under his chair and handed it to Alec, making sure that he handed it over gently, so as not to crush it's contents.

“I went in to the store earlier to buy some snacks for you in case this took a while, eat something. Using your senses to keep an eye on Jace is draining you too fast. I threw in a bunch of sugar packed items, hopefully they’ll charge you up enough in case you have to make any monster trees while in there,” Magnus said, his eyes trying to look anywhere but Alec’s grateful expression. He looked like Magnus had just handed him the moon, and it really was too much.

“Thank you,” Alec whispered, timidly pulling out a few things and taking a sip of a sports drink. He was still getting used to having to eat so much so often, “I’m sorry for being such a burden. I’ve never had so much trouble with these…’glucose fluctuations’. I used to go full days without eating and yeah I would be hungry, but nothing like…this,” he said, holding up one of his shaking hands.

Magnus reached out to grab the hand, not even thinking as he steadied it with his own, “You’re not a burden,” he said softly, “I’m guessing that you rarely used your abilities while in hiding, yes? If that is the case your body would function like any normal human body.  You’ve been using your connection to plants more times and to much higher levels than ever before, and it consumes more of your energy. This is all…new. It’s okay for things to be a bit rocky at the beginning while you’re adjusting. Everything will get better in time.”

Alec stared at the Psychic, eyes wide and fixed on the beautiful man before him. Magnus had every right to hate him, but here he was holding Alec’s hand so delicately, thumb rubbing his palm in a calming motion all while telling him that everything would be fine. He had even cared enough to bring food to him, knowing better than himself what Alec would need.

This was something Alec never knew could happen outside of his siblings, never knew that someone outside of his family could care so much for him despite his mistakes. How could he have not trusted the man sitting in front of him?

“Thank you,” Alec said again, voice thick with emotion, “For caring about me when you don’t have to. And I swear, I do care about you. More than you know. I’m so sorry for not telling you sooner,” he squeezed the hand that Magnus held, pushing the emotion he was feeling towards the Psychic, hoping he understood what it meant. He didn't know if Magnus would notice anything he pushed, or if Alec was even really 'pushing' anything at all and he was fooling himself in to thinking he had that kind of mental control.

Magnus felt his heart flutter as something purely Alec enveloped him. It felt familiar, yet completely new at the same time. It was brighter and warmer than anything he had felt from anyone before. Was this…?

Alec’s hand fell from his suddenly as the Elemental gasped, “I felt it, the second signal,” he said in a rush, Luke and Simon turning to him, “Sunflower,” he finished.

Luke nodded, “Then let’s go.”

Gathering up their meager bag of supplies, the Feral and Elemental moved to exit the van, movements quick and precise. It was all so fast, Magnus was still in a state of shock by the time the van door was sliding open, Luke hopping out first before turning back to the others, “Comm check?” he asked, tapping the small piece in his ear.

Simon gave him a thumbs up, “You’re good. Alec?”

“Oh, um I’m not sure if I put it in right…”

Simon snorted, “I can hear you fine, you’re both good. Go get our people back, guys! We’ll meet you at the chopper!”

Then Alec jumped out of the van, Luke sliding the door shut behind him before Magnus could even get a word out, his mouth hanging open like a fish. With a groan of frustration, he snagged a headset off of the bench, roughly pulled it on, not caring that it messed up his hair, and moved to the driver’s seat.

“Blondie certainly has the worst timing,” he grumbled to himself. Quickly he drove the van out of the parking lot and pointed it towards the woods.

* * *

 

“Stop squinting, you’ll draw attention to us,” Luke hissed at them as they drew closer to the building.

“I’m sorry, it’s just these stupid orange goggles. No wonder you guys never get shot, you can’t see shit out of these things,” Alec grumbled back, “We look dumb enough as it is, now they got to add in these?”

_“I’m afraid I have to agree with Alexander, those uniforms are ghastly. No matter how fine a physique, those things hide all the fun bits.”_

Alec smiled at Magnus’ voice in his ear, hearing him use ‘Alexander’ again bringing a warm feeling to his gut. He and look were getting closer to one of the building’s back doors, the place where Alec was getting the strongest pull from Isabelle’s location. Both of the mutants were clad in stolen Circle Corp agent uniforms that Luke and his team had collected ages ago just in case of things like this. Unfortunately, the sizes weren’t one size fits all, Alec just considered himself lucky that the three inches of ankle exposed from the too short pants were covered by the boots.

“Any day now, Simon,” Luke said, moving his lips as little as possible as they neared the door, camera perched right above.

_“Code of the day is 84027. You know, they should really invest in biometric security for the outside doors. Like, seriously. They literally make superhumans and can manipulate the human genome, but they aren’t advanced enough for a freaking fingerprint scanner?”_

Alec rolled his eyes.

Luke punched in the code, the keypad ringing green before unlocking, “You can sell them security features _after_ we get our people back.”

They opened the door slowly, unsure of what would greet them on the other side. Even Magnus and Simon stopped the radio chatter in nervous anticipation.

Alec gasped, “Oh my god…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uh.......I'm reaching a point in my writing where ratings are def starting to go up, but just not sure how graphic y'all want things.....gonna go with my gut for the moment I guess and I can always go back an edit as needed!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday All!!!!! Hope you enjoy today's new chapter. So glad I can keep up with this schedule of chapters, cause I would feel downright horrible for all these cliffhangers if I posted like...once a month.

Magnus’ heart leapt in to his throat and he threw a hand out to grab at whatever was closest, which happened to be Simon’s flannel shirt, as he heard Alec’s gasp over the radio.

_“Oh my god…”_

Magnus’ held his breath, his heart hammering in his chest as he waited for the screaming and gun shots to start coming in over the radio, but it didn't come...

_“Who freaking designed this place? Everything is so freaking white I can’t even tell you how long the hallway is, it looks that distorted. Is that even a door?”_

They all heard Luke let out a heavy sigh.

_"Focus, Alec. You’re here to point us in the right direction, not criticize their interior.”_

_“How am I going to direct us if I can’t even tell where the wall and floor meets?!”_

Magnus blew out his breath in a bark of laughter.

* * *

 

Closing his eyes, Alec did his best to push aside his anxiety and focus on the two beacons in the building. The acorn was closest, to the east of them and near the center of the building. The remaining pumpkin seed was west, towards the edges. It wasn’t ideal, closer would have been better, but just being able to feel both siblings nearby was enough to make him feel marginally more relaxed about all this.

“Um, let’s move up ahead. Around thirty yards from here we’ll need to find some way to make a right turn…if there are any turns in this hallway. Seriously, I’m starting to understand the orange goggles, you need sunglasses for a place like this.”

Luke nodded sharply and they began to move down the hall. Slowly, Luke began to stretch out his senses, hoping to pick up on anything useful. The entire hallway smelled…sterile, with only occasional hints of human presence. He could hear a resounding hum throughout the area, ventilation system, probably why there was no major discernible smells yet. They'd have to get a lot closer for him to be able to pick up on the girls' scents. He chose not to comment, but he wholeheartedly agreed with Alec, his eyes were already aching from the brightness.

“Where is everybody?” Alec asked, noting how empty everything seemed to be. He had pictured bustling halls, people in lab coats looking down at clipboards, mutants being dragged around screaming by agents, freaky operation viewing rooms...not this.

_“Mostly in labs or offices, you’re in the outer section of the facility, where they have storage and archive rooms if this map I have here is even half accurate. Less likely to have traffic. Once you get closer to the center you’ll start bumping in to more people.”_

Having Simon in his ear wasn’t as much as an annoyance as Alec thought it would be. It wasn’t so much like a buzzing mosquito in his ear, but more like a really helpful parrot. Then he paused as he thought about what Simon had just said.

“You have a map?”

_“Yeah, I found it while we were waiting for the second signal.”_

_“And you only just mention it now?” Magnus’ voice rang out._

“Mierda, es serió?” Alec cursed under his breath.

_“Hey, it’s not like they labelled parts of the map like ‘creepy cell block where they’re probably keeping your friends’! All I can see is hallways and closets, and several convenient bathroom locations.”_

“Children…please,” Luke sighed, resisting the urge to rub his face while the cameras in the hallway followed their every move, “Let’s focus. Simon…does you map show a right turn that we can take?”

_“Yeah, ninth door on the right from where you guys entered there should lead to another hallway,” came Simon’s sheepish voice._

* * *

 

Simon elbowed Magnus in the arm and covered the mouthpiece with his hand, “Stop glaring at me, I didn’t know if it would be useful, and Luke and I were trying to act like we were invisible while you and Alec made googly eyes at each other! I didn't want to interrupt anything, you know?”

Magnus placed his hand over his own mic, “I don’t care what you think I was doing, this was vital information!”

“Well excuse me for trying to help a bro out!”

* * *

 

The ninth door did indeed open to lead to another long hallway, just as blindingly white as the last one but with occasional glass windows breaking up the walls. Slowly, but steadily, the two mutants moved forward as Alec stretched his senses out. It wasn’t an easy task, tracking down Isabelle. He definitely had a direction to work off of, but he couldn’t just turn that way and walk in a straight line. There were walls in the way and nothing seemed to provide a straight on path to where he wanted to go. His frustration was building.

Each second that passed was another scenario he made up in his mind about what could be happening to his siblings and Clary. He'd had nightmare's like this before, and having to act it out in real life was enough to make him rethink ever sleeping again. After spending almost a decade hiding from this very place that contained the very person they never wanted to see again, here he was walking through the halls like some idiotic rat in a maze looking for his fellow rats. At each new turn it felt like he was waiting for Valentine to appear making notes on his clipboard and offering him poisoned cheese. 

Yeah, he was never going to sleep again. 

He shook his head, the goggles on his face sliding a bit off his nose. Simon may have been handy at cloning them some uniforms, but he could have at least tried a little harder to get them to fit right. Even in the first place, Alec had been against Simon making the clothes based purely on the fact that eventually they would poof back in to Alec's original clothes eventually. He could only pray that it didn't happen before they all got out.

Sighing, Alec reached out again, looking for the familiar tingle of energy in the building. Left…he needed to go left here. Alec paused and looked over his left shoulder. There was a door with a small window in it. Luke and him shared an apprehensive look before the team leader stepped up to the window and peered in.

“Another hallway, but it’s dark. I don’t think people come down this way much,” he muttered under his breath and then tapped at his ear piece, “Simon, can you tell if there is any kind of security on the fourth door on the left? Maybe even tell us if this just leads to one of those conveniently located bathrooms and we should try somewhere else?”

* * *

 

Simon and Magnus stared at the tablet in front of them, the map pulled up and zoomed in on their supposed location.

“Uh, I don’t see any bathrooms, but there is some crazy heavy security clearance to enter and the hallway is freaking huge, more like a large warehouse in the center of the building. Weird. Could possibly be a cell block I guess? Only one way to find out, give me two minutes and I’ll unlock the door for you.”

As the Molecular began to type furiously away at the attached keyboard, Magnus started to feel the cold anxiety creeping up his spine like the first frost of the season. The bantering aside, Magnus could feel how terrified each of them was before Alec and Luke had jumped out of the van. This wasn’t just any mission, this was _Valentine_ they were messing with. They weren’t just poking a sleeping bear, they were cattle-prodding a very awake and aware bear with a history of maniacal murder tendencies.

And Luke and Alec just…walked right in.

Magnus watched with a raised eyebrow as Simon reached over to press a button on the control panel, muting their radio.

“You’re worried about him," the Molecular stated simply.

Magnus cast an exasperated glance over at Simon who still had his face glued to the screen in front of him, “Of course I am. Luke is in the lion’s den while we sit around in the getaway chopper. Also, I hope you hid our van well, that's Luke's favorite stake out van and he's going to want it back in one piece.”

Simon sighed, but his typing didn’t waver, “You know who I was talking about, don’t play dumb. Aren’t you supposed to still be mad at him?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be hacking?”

“You know I’m Mr. Multitask. No evasion, answer the question.” 

Magnus sank back in to the seat. He could easily tell Simon yes and the Molecular would probably drop it, but it would be a lie. They were all done with lies at this point.

“Not really. I know why he did what he did, and his reasons were emotionally valid if not stupid…I’m not mad about him wanting to protect his family, I’m more hurt that he didn’t show the same care when it came to us,” he said softly.

“You mean you’re hurt because it looks like he didn’t care about you,” Simon shot back gently, the words coming out as a statement and not a question.

Magnus didn’t reply and Simon eventually flicked the radio back on.

* * *

 

_“You’re good, guys.”_

“Thanks, Simon,” Luke said and pulled open the door stepping in ahead of Alec. It wasn’t that he didn’t think Alec could be a first line defender, it was one of Luke’s ways of appeasing his human and animal instinct to protect the younger ones. And while he had no doubt that even though Alec was mature, responsible and a good strategist… he was so very young. It made Luke’s heart ache every time he looked at his teammates and it registered just how young they all were.

These kids should be out getting drunk at college parties, participating in clubs, sleeping until noon and eating nothing but microwaved noodles, but instead here they were trying to save thousands of lives and risking their own in the process. It wasn't fair. Luke carried the shame with him every day…that he was part of the reason so many young people were now living their lives in fear, that people like his team members all had to carry a burden that outweighed their years. It wasn't fair.

Stepping in to the darkened room, Luke’s listened first, but could hear nothing beyond the hum of what sounded like a million machines going all at once. He could smell people, so many scents at once, it was like standing on the streets of New York surrounded by thousands of people milling around you. Then he saw the soft glow that seemed to pepper the walls all around them like fireflies, and when he let his Feral eyes sharped he could see everything. Luke let out a strangled groan.

_It wasn't fair._

Alec’s eyes were just barely beginning to adjust to the dark hallway as he heard the noise come from Luke next to him. The sound made every hair on his neck stand on end, what could Luke have seen to have him make such a wretched noise? Alec’s eyes darted around the room, panic subsiding momentarily as he failed to see anyone coming at them. All he could make out were what looked like hundreds of glowing objects lining every inch of the hallway they stood in, floor to ceiling.

Curious, Alec moved closer to the nearest one, noting that it was a lot larger than he initially thought. It was a long cylinder, probably as long as he was tall, the top half appearing to have a frosted over glass lid. The glowing light was coming from inside each of the cylinders in the room.

Alec let out a breath, the air coming out wispy in front of him. He hadn’t noticed how cold it was in here. If it was cold enough for him to see his breath, then maybe…

Drawing his coat sleeve over his hand, he pressed his palm over the lip and swiped his hand across the glass, the condensation breaking apart to let him peer in.

Alec sprang back with a cry.

“Oh my god, they’re people!”

_“What? Alexander, what is going on in there? Have you been found?”_

Alec felt like he was about to hyperventilate, and Luke didn’t look much better. In a panicked fever, Alec ran over to the next pod, swiping again to reveal another young face. Then he ran over to the next only to reveal yet another face. Every single one had a person inside, all un-moving, all seemingly dead.

“Why would he keep bodies like this?” Alec whispered, afraid to raise his voice in this horrific room. He started to panic, wondering if Jace or Izzy were in one of them. If Izzy was in one of these, frozen solid with his acorn still in her pocket...Alec felt the bile rising in his throat. 

“They’re not bodies, they’re all alive. I can hear heartbeats, very slow but there, and they all smell alive. He must be keeping them alive somehow, in some sort of cryogenic stasis,” Luke said back, his voice raw. Is this what Ragnor meant by saying Valentine was collecting mutants? Were all these stasis pods full of the captured mutants?

Alec felt like he was about to throw up the meager snack Magnus had given him right before this. They were alive?! He felt like he was standing in a mass grave though. These people were being kept around like trophies for Valentine’s use. Unable to say no, unable to fight back, unable to live. He glanced back at some of the pods he had uncovered, noting several young men and women around his age as well as a few that were even younger.

His eyes fell on one pod in particular, a boy who looked to be around ten. His face, even in his induced sleep, looked scared and Alec choked back a sob thinking of how he should be outside playing with friends and instead he was some madman’s toy.

Alec stepped back, as if the physical distance would somehow make it all less painful, and bumped in to another pod, the back of his coat smudging away more condensation. He didn’t want to look, he didn’t want another face forever imprinted on his brain, but his eyes betrayed him and he glanced in.

There was a teenaged boy, around the age Max would have been if he had lived. He even had the same sandy brown hair and freckles.

Alec fell to his knees and was finally threw up everything in his stomach.

* * *

 

With a loud gasp, Isabelle shot up from where she lay in a cot with Clary pressed to her side, the sudden movement waking up the redhead.

“Izzy?” she asked groggily, “Is something wrong?”

Isabelle shook her head before laying back down next to Clary, putting her lips next to Clary’s ear to whisper so that no one else could hear.

“I smell them. They’re here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the further I get in this series, the more I realize that I may be taking this a little darker than Mutant X ever did, and I have no regrets. Like, we don't just knock out agents in these stories. Hell no, apparently I let one of the team kill agents with a sledgehammer and I'm good with this.
> 
> As for the cryogenic pods (or nap pods as they appeared to be in the original show) I feel like the Mutant X writers kind of glossed over just how terrible those things would be, so I may have taken it as a personal challenge to, make the pods scarier, include the pod stuff in more than one story and in various horrific ways, and make them something to truly be afraid of. This chapter was just the beginning kids.


	13. Rushed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO RED SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Anyway, so glad I'm able to post this, forgot I had something huge going on today and tomorrow and I would be away from my laptop, but I'm rushing to post this so sorry for any glaring typos!
> 
> Thanks again for all the comments and kudos!!!! It's like early christmas each time.

“Alec? Luke? I swear, if someone doesn’t answer me in the next thirty seconds we’re coming in after you!” Magnus shouted in to his mic, not at all trying to hide the fear in his voice, but all they heard was the background radio crackling. The last thing they'd heard was retching, making both of their hearts stutter in their chests as they tried to imagine what could have caused such a reaction.

Simon and Magnus held their breath as they waited.

Then finally…

_“We’re okay. We’ll talk about this later. Alec says we need to more northeast from here, so we’re following this hallway down to the end, we’ll need that door open when we get there. I don’t want to stay in this place a second longer than necessary.”_

“Roger that,” Simon said, casting a confused glance over to Magnus who shrugged helplessly.

* * *

 

“You okay?” Luke asked, hand covering his mic.

Alec swallowed back more bile burning the back of his throat, “No,” he said roughly. He wouldn’t be okay for a long time. Those faces…that face was going to haunt him for the rest of his life, he knew it.

Hesitantly, he covered his own mic, “Luke…can we free them? Can we take them with us?”

The question sounded so innocent coming from Alec, his voice for once sounding younger than his already tender age. His large eyes furthering the childlike inquiry, and Luke felt like the dirt caked under his boot.

Luke shook his head sadly, “No, not right now anyway. I wouldn’t know where to begin on how to pull them from stasis safely, and after that with that many people…I wouldn’t even know how to assure all of them making it out. It’s just too large of a scale for us during this mission. It would endanger more lives than help.”

“Even one pod? There was a kid in there…”

“We can’t, Alec. I’m sorry,” Luke said as he placed a firm hand on Alec’s shoulder feeling the young man’s trembling form, “But I promise that we will think of something. We don’t abandon our kind, and we will find a way. Okay?”

Alec nodded stiffly.

“Now which direction do we need to go once we’re through the hallway?”

* * *

 

Hodge felt like his whole body was trying to turn in to a heavy ball of lead, making it so every step he took closer to Valentine’s office would be a tremendous effort. Every cell in his body was rebelling, telling him that he shouldn’t be doing this, that he was a terrible person…

But his drive for survival outweighed his conscience yet again, and he hated himself more for it.

Hodge knocked on the door, waiting for his entry to be granted before stepping in.

“You have something for me?” Valentine asked.

Hodge nodded, “Blood test results for the girls. There’s something you’re going to want to see.”

He handed the paper to Valentine, watching as his beady eyes ran over the stats, widening marginally as they fell upon the crucial piece that was making Hodge sick.

“Bring her to me.”

The look in his eyes, that menacing possessiveness was all it took, it was the last straw. The last drop of water that made the cup overflow. Hodge couldn’t do this anymore.

* * *

 

Jace waited in his room, heart in his throat as he waited.

“Come on, come on…where are you guys?”

Being left alone with only his thoughts to taunt him was the last thing he needed right now. His traitorous mind was on a never ending cycle of his most painful childhood memories and whatever horrid thing his mind came up with when he wondered what was happening to Isabelle and Clary. Then of course the next things would be what bad things could have happened to Luke and Alec to make them take this long.

Jace groaned loudly, hands rubbing at his eyes as if it would stop the imaged from running through his brain.

“Please be safe…”

Then he heard the lock on his door click open.

* * *

 

_“Sir, we just got word from surveillance. There’s two men dressed as agents in the cell block, they’re opening all the doors.”_

Valentine cursed in to his phone, “They’re here for the girls. Send every available agent down there, use any means available, stunners, guns, I don’t care, but do not harm the girl with red hair! And damn it, somebody find Starkweather!”

* * *

 

The paint on his nails was starting to flake off as Magnus continued to gnaw at them, his nerves combined with Simon’s getting the best of him. At this point he would give anything to have been inside with Alec and Luke, just so that he would have a better idea of what was going on.

The radio was mostly chatter from the two mutants inside talking about which direction next or Luke confirming that he was picking up on some familiar scents. It was maddening.

Simon kept himself occupied by pulling up random cameras on his tablet, trying to catch glimpses of where everyone was or to maybe see if any agents had been alerted to their presence. So far the most he had captured was Alec’s elbow for all of two seconds before he moved out of frame. The two were moving too fast for Simon to keep up with. Still, that small glance of elbow was as pleasing to Magnus as being handed half a donut at this point, not as great as the whole thing, but still good.

Magnus couldn’t believe how worried he was for Alec, the mere idea that he was in such a dangerous place was making him feel ill. Is this how Alec felt when his siblings were in danger? This all-consuming fear of losing someone irreplaceable? He was starting to better understand Alec’s overriding policy on protecting his family above all else. Who was Magnus compared to his beloved brother and sister? As if someone as incredibly family bound as Alec could ever care as much for an invasive Psychic as he would for his loved ones.

Magnus started to feel cold the more he thought about it. He had no right to fault Alec for caring for his family above him, and perhaps he'd been more than a little too hard on the Elemental. Just because he was feeling something deeper upon meeting Alec did not mean that it was reciprocated just as intensely. Magnus had to just learn to accept that he may just not be in the same league as Alec's siblings yet, or ever. It was a tragic thing to realize, but Magnus wasn't about to let Alec go because of it. Magnus was used to being pushed aside, he could live with it.

But then he slipped his chilled hands in to his pockets and froze as his fingers brushed up against something.

Slowly, Magnus pulled the object from his pocket, his eyes watering upon the sight on a small acorn.

Alec? But when…

Magnus remembered Alec’s hand bumping against his jacket back at the abandoned plant, before the girls were taken, before any of this had happened. He had barely noticed it then, too focused on Alec’s hand moving in to his…

_“…It started as a comfort thing, for when I felt alone. I would find some seeds, something small that would go unnoticed, and put them in Izzy’s and Jace’s pockets. If I was worried, I could reach out to those seeds and know exactly where they were. Eventually they caught on, and we started using it for more practical things, like in case we got separated after running from the police who wanted to collect some stray kids off the streets. I’d be able to walk around until I could feel where they had run to and I’d go get them. It’s been a habit ever since that I give them something before something potentially dangerous. I feel better knowing I can find the people I care about…”_

Magnus fought to hold back the happy tears that threatened to fall from his eyes. He'd been wrong, he had been so wrong and he'd never felt happier to have been so wrong. Just thinking that Alec cared enough to have slipped an acorn in his pocket along with his beloved siblings was enough to make his whole body warm.

Maybe he'd let just one happy tear fall.

* * *

 

“We’re getting close, Luke. Really close.”

The Feral nodded as they sped up their pace, something in their guts telling them they were running out of time. Alec could feel the hum from coming up ahead, his heart pounding with hope that he would find his sister soon. Their heavy boots hit the floor noisily as they broke in to a jog wordlessly.

“Anything looking cell-like on that map, Si?”

_“Pretty much every door in there will lead to what could be a cell. A few have observation rooms, too. They’ve got to be in one of those! I’ve unlocked all of them for you, just  keep opening doors.”_

Both of them immediately broke from each other’s sides, jumping at the first panel within reach and pressing the button to open the sliding door.

“Nothing!”

“This one’s clear!”

“Fuck, another empty one.”

“Damn it, this one is empty too.”

Alec was getting frantic and he didn’t even know why, then he felt something nagging at the back of his skull like a small itch. Jace? Was he getting closer?

_“Guys, you need to move fast! I just saw a big batch of agents headed down your way!”_

Alec groaned, couldn’t anything go their way for once? His tracking of Izzy had gotten them this close, but now it wasn’t helping. He knew she was here, and that was it!

“They already know where we are, right?” Alec asked.

_“Uh, duh? Why?”_

“IZZY!” Alec shouted, his voice echoing off the walls and making Luke wince, his super hearing ringing from the sudden noise.

They both fell quiet for a moment before a muffled sound came from one of the doors.

_“ALEC!”_

The two of them dove for the door the noise came from, barely letting the door finish sliding open before darting inside where Isabelle and Clary leapt at them. Isabelle threw herself at her brother, wrapping her arms around his torso, him being too tall to reach much higher on him. Happily, she rubbed her face in his neck, thrilled to smell his familiar scent again. There was some other scent there as well, one that was familiar but she couldn’t quite place it. She’d figure it out later, right now she was just happy to hold her brother again. And Clary rushed to Luke, burying her face in his chest as he wrapped her up tight, kissing the top of her head.  

“Alec, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get taken. I just saw them going for Jace and I panicked!”

Alec shushed her, “It’s okay, I’m not mad. I’m just happy you’re okay. But we need to get Jace and get out of here, now!”

Clary’s head shot up the same time as Isabelle’s, “You brought Jace here?!”

Both men winced, “Now is not the time to discuss, we need to go now. Alec, where is Jace?”

He shook his head, “I’m not sure. He’s moving too fast to get a good read on him. I don’t even know how or why he’s moving.”

Luke cursed under his breath, “Simon, can you guide the girls out of here while we find Jace?”

He could hear Simon start to respond but that’s when the hallway outside of the cell started to flood with agent, all with weapons held high, both stun and kill guns trained on them.

Luke didn’t even have time to shout a warning before they started firing in to the small room, bullets and tazing beams filling the doorway. Pulling Clary back against him he threw them both to the floor, covering her much smaller body with his own. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Isabelle leap to the side as well, her inhuman reflexes all that kept her from being shot.

Then he saw Alec dive for the doorway, his hand reaching out to hit the panel on the other side.

The door finally started to shut, the projectiles entering the room becoming less and less until one finally hit its target.

Alec’s body jerked back violently and fell to the floor just as the door shut.

“ALEC!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Insert Tears*  
> See y'all Friday!


	14. Shock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, all! Sorry about that last cliffhanger, but I'm a sucker for angst.   
> I hope this chapter reads well, it's a little time-skippy because I guess when I wrote this over a month ago I thought it would provide some sort of dramatic benefit. 
> 
> Updates on the rest of the series:   
>  I am almost done with the fine tuning/editing/questioning my entire story line for the third installment, so there shouldn't be a delay between the last post of this story and the first of the next. I like to "complete" a story before posting just to make sure I can change wording/plot lines if it becomes necessary, so it takes a damn long time for me to edit. Anyway, Alec fans will enjoy it for sure. Malec fans will be very pleased. And a two beloved characters will be making their first appearances! Can you guess who????
> 
> And update for the fourth installment is that I've started writing some chapters and it's gonna be focused on Magnus' backstory. So Magnus fans will either love or hate me, we'll see! All I know at this point is that it will be a darker installment than what we've seen so far.

_“Lock the door, Simon! Lock the damn door!”_

_“Alec, wake up, please!”_

_“What do we do, Luke?”_

Simon’s fingers had never moved faster as he punched in the code to lock the cell door that they were in and then moved on to making sure no one else could open it from the outside for at least a few minutes. He needed to buy them time to figure out what the hell to do next. His whole body was trembling.

Next to him Magnus was pale, his eyes watery as he listened to the chaos over Luke’s earpiece, the girl’s voices coming in faint from the background. He didn’t hear a sound from Alec’s, not even breathing. The dichotomy between things moving too fast and too slow seemed to fade away and Magnus was left reeling as he tried to process what was happening. Nothing seemed real, but it was. This was real and it was happening, the screams were evidence enough for him to know something terrible was happening. 

“Luke, it’s locked now, what do you want me to do next?” Simon asked urgently, panic lacing his voice. 

_“Just stay where you are for now…we…agents……Alec was shot….heart….shkrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...”_

“Luke? Luke, you’re breaking up. I didn’t get that…Luke?”

Simon turned to Magnus, horror on his face.

No answer came over the radio, it had fallen completely silent save for static. Magnus buried his face in his hands, wondering if he’d ever be able to breath again.

* * *

 

It was the most torturous fifteen minutes of his life. All he had to listen to as he went over every horrific scenario in his head was the hiss of their disconnected radio and Simon’s Hebrew prayer as they waited in the rescue helicopter, hidden in the trees outside the building. From the outside everything looked normal, green trees, birds singing, people dressed in business clothes moving in and out of the building…from the outside everything was perfectly inconspicuous. While inside…inside Magnus knew anything but a happy mundane day was occurring.

Inside somewhere Alec was unconscious, maybe even dead, and all Magnus could do was sit here and wait. Alec could be bleeding out and there was nothing he could do short of going in there himself and probably making things worse. Although it certainly sounded better at the moment than sitting here and picturing one if not five people he cared about dead.

He heard Simon finish his prayer, his body shifting in his seat, “Magnus?”

Magnus grunted in reply.

“Magnus, what do we do now?”

The Psychic cursed and punched at the window, knowing in the back of his head that it was bullet proof and it wouldn’t break, but it felt good to hit something, “I don’t know. I…I don’t know.”

In his hand, Magnus rubbed the acorn around his palm, wishing that Alec’s little trick could work in reverse. What he would give to know where he was now. With a frustrated groan, Magnus moved out of the co-pilot chair and hopped out on to the field outside, upset that the mere sight of grass made him think of Alec even more. He cast a glance back at the chopper, watching Simon try again to pull up cameras in vain, they had finally been kicked out of the network once the agents had caught on to them. They were blind and deaf now.

It wasn't fair. What kind of karma induced misery had his past self inflicted on him if the universe was possibly snatching away Alexander mere moments after Magnus had realized his feelings were reciprocated? It made him wonder bitterly if maybe he wasn't meant to care for anyone, that no matter what the universe would have it's way and love would only end in pain for him, he was meant to be alone. 

But he couldn't bring himself to give up just yet, not yet.

Wrapping his arms around his middle, wishing they were someone else’s arms, he watched the edge of the forest and waited. He’d wait here for as long as it took, even if he had to become one of these trees in the meantime. 

And then he saw several figures approaching, and his eyes widened in shock. He was about to run back in to the chopper, fearing the agents had finally found them, but then he spotted the flash of familiar red hair and his heart leapt.

“Simon! Start the engines!” Magnus called and ran towards the group, not checking to see if Simon heard. He just wanted to see their faces now, to assure himself everyone was there.

At first, he only saw four figures, the number making his vision gray out for a moment at the implication, but then he saw a fifth being carried between two others as he got closer. He almost fell to his knees when he recognized the tall frame being carried between Luke and Jace.

Isabelle and Clary were the first to reach him, both trying to pull him back toward the helicopter with them. Frantically, they tugged at his arms, screaming in his ears that continued to roar at the sight of Alec limp between Luke and Jace.

“Magnus, we need to leave now! They’re on our tail! I don’t know how long he can hold them off!” Isabelle shouted. He could feel her claws dig in to his sleeves, tearing the fabric, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

Roughly he tried to pull away from them, “No, please, I need to see him!” Magnus cried, but the girls were dragging him back. He could see both Jace and Luke running as fast as they could with their shared burden between them. Alec’s legs were dragging uselessly on the ground, his head hanging down against his chest, but Magnus couldn’t tell anything else about his condition, that stupid military clothing too baggy and dark to make anything out.

“Get on the chopper, now!” Luke yelled, his voice barely carrying over the sound of the propellers starting up. The air around them started to pick up, flapping their clothes around violently and sending dust in to their eyes.

Isabelle used her Feral strength to finally haul Magnus back, dragging him physically back on to the chopper before moving back to the side to help Luke and Jace get Alec’s body loaded on board. Magnus nearly became sick as he saw Alec’s head loll to the side, his face pale and his body completely limp. Jace leapt up next, crouching next to Alec as Luke followed behind yelling to the front where Simon was, “Let’s move it!” he said as he pulled the door shut behind him.

Outside Magnus could make out a moving mass of black military figures coming for them, but Simon had already pulled the chopper in to the air and over the trees. They cleared the area before even one agent could get a shot off.

The lurching of the chopper peeling across the sky did nothing to deter Magnus from scrambling over to the far too still form on the floor, immediately reaching for a hand to grab on to, but with the military gloves on he couldn't tell if the skin was warm or cold. 

“What happened to him? Is he…?” Magnus couldn’t say the word, but thankfully he didn’t have to because Jace shook his head, his eyes haunted but clear.

“He’s alive,” he said loudly, the sound of the propellers muffling his shout, but Magnus heard each precious word, and felt like he could take his first full breath since Alec left the van. His eyes closed in relief and his body sank forward, his forehead falling on Alec’s chest. Now he could hear a steady heartbeat and feel the gentle fall and rise of his chest, completely assured that he hadn’t lost anyone today.

* * *

 

The flight back had taken longer than usual, Simon having to take an alternate route to assure that Valentine’s people couldn’t track them in any way, and the whole time Magnus stayed at Alec’s side holding one of his hands while Jace clasped the other.

They weren’t able to talk to each other over the sounds of the chopper, something that was killing Magnus as he was brimming with questions. Most along the lines of ‘what the hell happened in there?’, but he was trying to keep his focus on other things until he could speak without tearing a larynx of something.

He had been giving their returned friends visual as well as emotional inspections as they got closer to the mountains. Anything to give him clues as to what happened.

Clary looked perfectly healthy, if not a little rumpled. Magnus made note to offer to sew up the tear in her sweater sleeve later. He wasn’t surprised to note that she wasn’t in shock from her experience. While Clary may at first glance look like a frail little girl, she truly was a force to be reckoned with. Her aura sang of relief, probably at being rescued as well as seeing everyone emerge relatively in one piece. Oddly though, she also was emanating sympathy every time she looked at Jace. She had planted herself at his side, only an inch between the two, offering herself as a warm presence to Jace’s cold body.

Jace was not nearly as well put together, but he wasn’t as big of a mess as Magnus would have assumed he would be. The only visual blemish he could see was a growing bruise on his cheek, but nothing more. Emotionally though, Magnus saw a bit more damage. Right now Jace was like a rope pulled too tight, edges a little frayed and strained, but still holding together for the most part. If there was any further weight added however, Magnus could not promise that rope wouldn't snap. He watched Jace who was clinging to both Alec and Clary’s presence like a warm blanket, beating back whatever chill had settled in his bones after meeting with his father for the first time in years. A proud feeling found its way in to Magnus’ chest. He couldn’t discern if it was only him feeling proud of Jace for making it through all this, or it was Luke’s pride leaking in. Maybe a bit of both if Magnus was being honest. Jace had been so strong, and he deserved some comfort and praise for helping them free their teammates.

Speaking of…Magnus glanced over at Isabelle who sat in the far back of the chopper, starting out the window with sad red rimmed eyes. She was devastated about something, but Magnus had no idea what.

Luke and Simon were in the pilot and co-pilots seats up front. Simon was probably the most untouched person in the vicinity, simply relieved to have everyone back. Luke meanwhile...he felt heavy. He was carrying an even heavier burden than Magnus had ever felt before.

Magnus sighed, knowing no one would hear it over the engines, and drew his eyes back to the face he was most glad to see. Slack and pale, Alec’s face was still a beautiful sight to behold and Magnus wanted to do nothing more than kiss him senseless. He held back though, not just because his siblings were right there and also not just because he was still completely blacked out, but because it was starting to dawn on him how real this was becoming.

He’d only known Alec for a few weeks and Magnus had been aching for returned affections that entire time, but now that they were here Magnus wasn’t sure if he was elated or…terrified. Is this what was in store for them from now on? Alec at deaths door every other day? It would be a miracle if Magnus' heart didn't collapse after the first year. Magnus sighed as he closed his eyes and waited for them to finally fly home.

* * *

 

Luke’s gentle and non-urgent handling of Alec after the helicopter landed was somewhat reassuring to Magnus. The team leader had scooped up the Elemental and walked him past the infirmary and right up to the bed in Alec’s room, placing him carefully under the covers that Jace pulled back. After he was settled in did everyone finally release the tension from their shoulders, all of them practically dropping where they stood around Alec’s bedroom.

Jace dropped to the floor, his back against the edge of the bed. He practically melted when Clary sat down next to him and he quickly placed an arm around her small shoulders.

Isabelle sat down on the bed, hands clenched in her lap. Simon took notice and moved next to her, placing his hands over hers when he saw the claw marks drawing blood in her palm. Gently he pried her hands apart and slid his in between.

Luke moved back until his shoulders found the wall and he leaned in to it, the building doing most of the work to keep him upright. Even in his utter state of mental and physical exhaustion, he couldn’t bring himself to relax fully just yet.

And Magnus…he was lost. Half of him wanted to crawl in to the bed with Alec and hold him until he finally opened his eyes, but the other half was struggling to even stay in the room. When he pictured him and Alec being an item during one of the many fantasies he had played through his mind, it was all happy rainbows and smiles. He didn’t picture how he would feel if Alec was suddenly taken from him, to finally get a small taste of something solid and real only to have it literally shot down minutes later…the whiplash alone was enough to make Magnus want to crawl in a corner and lick his wounds.

He didn’t run yet though, he stood in the middle of the room, with all his friends around him as he looked down at the bed.

“What happened in there, Luke?” he said out loud. _What happened to him,_ he asked in his head.

Luke seemed to sink even further in to the wall before he started to recall the last horrific moments of the mission.

* * *

 

**_One hour earlier_ **

_Luke watched as Alec crashed to the floor, his limb twitching uncontrollably as three shots from stun guns made contact. He heard Isabelle cry out to her brother as she crawled on her belly to drag his body towards her._

_“Alec!”_

_Luke had to act fast, leaping to his feet and pulling Clary up next to him, both moving to the door and doing their best to hold it in place. They could all hear the agents outside, trying to pry open the door. It was only Luke’s super strength that they were able to just barely keep the door from sliding open even an inch, but his strength was wavering. Luke tapped at his earpiece, “Lock the door, Simon! Lock the damn door!”  he shouted over the blasts._

_Sweat broke out on his forehead as he strained to keep it shut just a few moments longer. His eyes were squeezed shut but he could still here Isabelle and Clary’s voices._

_“Alec, wake up, please!”_

_“What do we do, Luke? He's not moving!"_

_Finally he heard the door click locked seconds before Simon’s voice told him that they were okay and asking for the next step._

_Next step…Luke didn’t even know. They were trapped in a cell, a hoard of agents with guns on the other side, Clary and Izzy were both still wearing mutant suppressors, and Alec…Luke shook his head and knelt down next to him, both glad and a little nervous at how still he was since the tremors stopped. He felt for a pulse and sighed when he found an erratic, but strong one._

_“Luke?” Clary asked fearfully._

_The Feral tapped his earpiece again, not liking the static that was starting to ring in his ear, “Just stay where you are for now, Simon. We’re trapped in the cell, surrounded by agents. Not sure how to get out of that one yet. Alec was shot by three stunner blasts when he closed the door. His heart is still beating, so he’ll wake up very sore, but alive. Do you have any intel on where the nearest exit is? Can you get a camera on Jace’s location....Simon?”_

_The radio went dead in his ear._

_Luke drew in a steadying breath, losing his cool now would only upset the girls more. Isabelle was already close to losing it now that her brother was out cold. It would be hours if not a whole day before he’d be waking up again. He felt a gentle touch on his wrist and glanced down to see Clary looking up at him with sad eyes._

_“It’s going to be okay. We’ll be fine,” she said, almost as if she believed it herself, but Luke could hear her heart skip at the lie anyway. He pulled her in tight against his chest in another crushing hug._

_“I was worried about you, kiddo,” he said in to her hair._

_“I’m fine. Thank you for coming for me,” she whispered back._

_The sounds on the other side of the door suddenly got louder, yells and thuds that echoed through the cell making both Ferals snarl and crouch in the ready position. Clary and Alec’s body were pushed behind the barrier they were making with their bodies, the last attempt to protect those they loved._

_A loud bang resounded from outside the door, and then silence fell for a moment._

_Luke’s claws came out._

_The door lock clicked._

_Isabelle hissed._

_Then the door slid open._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three more chapters to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


	15. Whirling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back, all!   
> So I'm taking a look at my schedule for the next week, and it's looking a little spotty at best, especially this Friday and coming Monday. I won't have much time for writing/editing unfortunately. So just in case I can't post this Friday or coming Monday I'm going to post the last three chapters today!
> 
> Of course, this means that it won't be until next Friday that you'll see anything from me, so apologies for that. But know that it will be the first chapter of our third story!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOO!!!!!! It will be called "Find Me in the Shadows", and it will be a bit longer than these last two stories, and with a lot more fluff and stuff mixed in the beginning/end. The middle will be the normal angsty mess that I can't seem to live without.

_Isabelle nearly cried as she saw Jace run in to the room, followed by Hodge. She ran up to her brother, giving him a hug before she pulled back to look at him. He was bleeding in a few places from various scratches, but he was smiling, until he noticed Alec though. She watched the color drain from his face as he took in Alec's still body on the floor._

_“Alec! What happened?” he asked as he ran over, looking for any wounds._

_Even Hodge looked alarmed at seeing the Elemental on the floor, concern written on his face. Luke watched the man cautiously before answering Jace, “Got hit by a couple stunners. He’s going to be fine though," he assured Jace after seeing his horrified expression, "What happened to the agents outside?”_

_Jace smirked, “Taken care of” he said and jerked his head towards the hallway, “Hodge came by my cell and told me he’d take me to Clary and Iz, said he wanted to get us out. I didn’t really believe him until he clocked out the agent guarding my door with his stone fist. Figured I’d take the chance and go with him.”_

_Curious, Luke poked his head out of the door and nodded in approval at the littering of unconscious or dead agents on the floor. Some with burns, some with large purpling bruises on their faces. None of them would be getting up anytime soon, if ever again._

_Stepping back in the room, he turned to regard the man who had come in with Jace, “Hodge, are you helping us?” Luke asked warily. Jace and Isabelle looked over at them, both confused and wary._

_“Luke...how do you know Hodge?” Isabelle asked slowly, distrust lacing her tongue._

_Luke could feel the hairs raising on his arm as she looked at him, and he had to bite back the guilt that threatened to consume him then. This wasn't the time or place to reveal the secrets he'd held close to his chest for all these years, it would have to wait a while longer. With all the apologetic regret he could muster in his voice he replied, "Long story, Izzy. I’ll tell you and everyone else later, but for now we need to get out of here fast. I have a feeling we won't be alone for long."_

_Hodge nodded hastily, "He's right, Izzy. Jace and I were able to use my credentials to jam all radios and cameras so that it would be hard for more agents to find us, but they’ll have those systems back up soon. We need to run!” Hodge said, pulling something from his pocket that looked like a USB._

_He reached for Isabelle’s neck and she jerked back, her expression distrustful and Hodges shoulders fell, “Izzy…I’m not going to hurt you, I promise. This is just a key to take off the suppressors. It’ll take of Clary’s too.”_

_“Why should I trust you after what you’ve done?” She shot back._

_“Listen to my heart, Izzy. Know that I’m not lying when I say how sorry I am, and that I wish I could go back and change everything, to save those four kids I loved so much. I didn’t protect you then, and it’s haunted me ever since. I want to protect you now, I can get you out of here. I won’t let Valentine use any of you, ever again,” he said firmly._

_Isabelle looked unsure, her eyes as lost as her soul. She didn’t know what to do. Both her human and animal instincts were screaming different things and she just couldn’t move. She was frozen completely until Luke placed a warm hand on her shoulder._

_“Iz…breathe. Think to yourself…what do you want to do?” he asked._

_She took a deep breath, “I want to protect my family,” she said, “but I also want to trust him," she whispered, her mind playing images of a panther trying to claw it's way out of a cage while she stood and watched it roar._

_Luke smiled at her gently, almost as if he could see her thoughts, “Those don’t have to be mutually exclusive things. Let him guide us out of the building.”_

_“Okay,” she said, and the cage around the panther fell, the feline ceasing it's angered roars to calmly walk over to sit at her side, ready to jump in to action should she need it._

_Behind them Jace was still hovering over Alec, his face grim when Clary sat down next to them._

_”He’s going to be okay, we’ve gotten hit by stunners before. They hurt like hell, but don’t do any lasting damage,” she offered gently and tried to reach out to grab his hand but he pulled back as if stung._

_“Jace, what’s wrong?” she asked, feeling his tepid response to her now that the suppressor was removed._

_He shook his head, “I’m so sorry I got you mixed up in all of this. They were after me and you saved me not knowing why…why Valentine wanted me. If you’d known you’d never have pushed me out of the way, and you’d be safe.”_

_“Jace, I—”_

_“Valentine is my father, Clary. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you before! I was scared, we all were scared that it would change how you felt about us…about me,” Jace said, his voice sounding wet as he held back a flood of emotion._

_It was like admitting that he had committed some heinous act, admitting that he was a monster to the more pure and gentle person that he had ever met. Even saying the words to her felt like he was staining her somehow, as if his very presence in her life was dirty somehow, but he couldn't keep his silence any longer. Not when it had already caused to much damage._

_Clary looked at him tenderly, her delicate hand coming up to cup his jaw, “I know. Izzy told me, and I’m not mad. I get it, and it’s okay. You hear me? We’re fine. You and me…we’re fine. Luke has always told me that we don’t have to be our parents if we don’t want to be.”_

_The relief that ran through Jace was like a tsunami, but all that escaped him was a single happy tear that Clary wiped away._

_“Let’s go, guys. Jace, help me with Alec,” Luke ordered, breaking the two out of their moment and in to action._

_Together, Jace grabbed Alec’s long legs while Luke grabbed him up by his underarms and they hoisted him up. Hodge led the group out and down the hallway, all of them taking care not to trip on any fallen agents. Clary paused to pick up a couple weapons and handed them to Hodge and Isabelle as they moved forward._

_“There’s an exit to the east of here, but you’d be walking right out to broad daylight. Don’t suppose you guys had an escape plan once you grabbed the girls?” Hodge asked._

_“South of the building, in the trees we’ve got a helicopter waiting for us,” Luke offered. It was odd, working with Hodge again after all these years. He had no idea that the Lightwoods knew him at all, but then again, if they had contact with Valentine there was always the chance they would know some of the faces that Luke knew. And Hodge…they had been friends once, he knew things…things that were still unknown to Valentine. That meant that all these years, Hodge had been hiding secrets for Luke and Jocelyn…there was still a part of him that Luke could trust._

_“That’s perfect, I’ve got a shortcut to get us to that door, we just have to go this way,” Hodge said, turning left down the next hallway, “If we keep to the edges of the facility we may be able to avoid bumping in to anyone. All the scientists are in the labs and offices, but they barely look up past there clipboards anyway. The only small joy of working at this place has been watching them walk in to walls and smashing their noses. Anyway, half of my security team is on the floor back there, so the rest will be trying to spread out to track down whoever messed with their systems," he said, with wry humor that Luke remembered from their time together years ago._

_They tore down the hallways, racing against an unseen predator that they knew would be catching up with them eventually. Their breath came in short pants, the fear making it feel like there wasn’t enough oxygen in the air to completely fill their lungs._

_That’s when Luke heard it._

_The sound of pounding feet coming up behind them, fast. And then the echo of more coming from in front reverberated off the walls and making him curse under his breath._

_“Hodge, are we close? They’re closing in!”_

_“We’re almost there, keep running!” Hodge yelled, turning to make sure that everyone was following. His heart clenched at the fear in Jace’s, Izzy’s and Clary’s eyes, and ached seeing Alec looking so young. Too young to have been on the front lines like this. If only they could have been kept from all this. If only he had time to tell them Valentine's secret that he had kept for eight years..._

_If only they had time to make it to the stasis room…but he shook away the thought, he had to get these kids to safety first. He owed them that much._

_Finally, he pulled up to the door and reached in to his pocket to pull out is ID card and swiping it through. The light flashed red._

_“Damnnit, they already locked me out! They must know I’m helping you!” Hodge cursed._

_Luke nodded to Jace and the two of them gently propped Alec up against the door, "_ _Izzy, help me kick this in. Jace and Clary, you help Hodge hold everyone off until we can get this door open,” Luke ordered, Isabelle already taking position next to him._

_The footsteps closed in around them._

_“Kick!”_

**Thud!**

_“It didn’t budge!”_

_“Again!”_

**Thud!**

_“They’re getting closer!”_

**Thud!**

_“They’re too close, even if we get the door open they’ll be right on our tail!”_

**Crack!**

_As soon as the door fell off it’s hinges Luke reached down and grabbed a fistful of fabric on Alec and yanked him outside, Jace siding up to him and hoisting his brother’s arm over his shoulder to help. Luke could hear Isabelle and Clary up ahead, but he was missing someone._

_He turned his head to see Hodge’s back as he stood in the doorway, his entire body enveloped in stone._

_“Hodge! Let’s go!” Luke called._

_Isabelle and Clary stopped running to turn back and watch._

_“No! You guys run, I’ll hold them off!” Hodge yelled back._

_“Hodge, come with us, please!” Isabelle shouted as the bullets and stunners started bouncing off of him._

_She saw him cast a quick glance at her, his eyes somehow happy, “No, not this time. It was my job to protect you back then and I didn’t. This is the only way I’ll ever be able to redeem myself! Take your brother’s, take Clary and Luke and run!”_

_Isabelle felt tears on her face, only just realizing then that she had begun to cry as Clary tugged at her arm, urging her to run. Finally, Isabelle turned and followed, granting Hodge his wish._

_Luke cast one more glance at Hodge, accepting his sacrifice for them before putting his concern for the two boys with him in the forefront and he began to run forward, but Hodge called out to him once more as he began to move, his voice quiet but a shout to his Feral hearing._

_“Luke, he knows about Clary. I’m so sorry.”_

_Luke clenched his eyes shut and pushed on in to the woods where the helicopter would be waiting for them._

* * *

 

_Hundreds of bullets were bouncing off of him like popcorn, the stunners streams doing nothing to his impenetrable skin, but every single thing that hit him instead of those amazing kids he has just set free was like a raindrop from the sky washing him of all his sins._

_This is what he should have done all those years ago…_

_And when the agents finally pulled out the explosives, well…the blast was like thunder._

* * *

 

**Present**

“So, he’s dead?” Simon asked quietly, his voice hoarse despite not having talked through Luke's retelling.

Luke shrugged weakly, “I can’t say for sure.”

“Did we do the right thing, leaving him behind?” Isabelle asked, fresh tears falling down her lovely face.

Luke sighed and looked at the floor, unable to meet her eyes, “I can’t say for sure on that either. I just knew he and I have a lot to atone for, and I wasn’t about to take that chance away from him.”

No one commented on Luke’s still unnamed guilt, the fact that he knew Hodge still something that Jace and Isabelle still needed time to process. Surely it meant something important, but they were far too emotionally drained to even begin to think or even ask about it yet.

The room fell quiet, each person lost in their own thoughts, each unsure where to go from here. Magnus couldn’t believe his eyes when he glanced at the clock on Alec’s nightstand to see that it was almost 6pm. Had it really only been a day and a half? He felt as if he had aged five hundred years in the last three hours alone.

Luke saw Magnus glance at the clock and saw the time as well. He pushed off the wall and pulled Clary on her feet.

“I know you all are tired, but what kind of over-bearing father figure would I be if I didn’t feed you brats before bed,” he joked, the mood lifting immediately.

“All is forgiven when pizza is involved,” Simon said, pulling Isabelle to her feet as well.

Both Jace and Isabelle looked hesitant to leave the room, their eyes and hearts still focused on the still figure on the bed, but Magnus gave each of them an encouraging smile, “Don’t worry about him, I’ll keep an eye on him for you if you promise to bring me a slice. I’ll come fetch you if he so much as twitches a finger. Deal?”

Isabelle nodded her thanks and let Simon lead her from the room, leaving only Jace and Magnus at the foot of Alec’s bed.

He watched the young man before him, looking every bit at that moment like a deer that would spook and run at any loud noise. His face was harrowed and drawn as he gazed down at his brother laying unnaturally still in the bed, as pale as the sheets he was wrapped in. Magnus' heart ached in sympathy for him, knowing exactly what the blond was thinking.

“You can take a break, Jace. I won’t let anything happen to him,” Magnus said gently. He could feel the anxiety building in the blond, the day’s events catching up to him. Hell, the day was still catching up with Magnus as well. So much to process and his mind was running on half the required RAM right now.

Jace displayed the weight of the day on his shoulders, sunk so low that he looked hunched over and it tugged at Magnus’ most basic cathartic bones. The young man before him was someone incredibly dear to Alec, and therefore he felt even more of a tug at his heartstrings.

“Jace? Are you okay?” he asked, voice soft.

Jace drew in a shuttering breath at his name and dragged his eyes away from where his brother lay, “Not really. I’m just sick of seeing people hurt because of me. Clary and Iz…Alec…you guys all could have been killed because of me. That’s not going to go away as long as I’m Valentine’s son. Maybe Simon was right and I should leave. It would be easy for me to go in to hiding alone. Your lives are already difficult as it is, and you all deserve to have some peace. Alec and Izzy deserve that and more. I know that they keep saying that they love me and that they don't want me to go...but maybe they just don't realize how much of a burden I am. Maybe they'd be happier after I finally did leave.”

Magnus sighed and turned to face Jace full on, gripping the man’s arms tightly in his own as if to physically keep him from running away, “I can see where you’re coming from. Those aren’t unreasonable thoughts, in fact they border on logical, but lives can’t be run on simple logic. We’re not robots, we’re not even animals really. Humanity is its own special brand of life, and it’s our souls that define us. Logic will tell us that we have an easier time of it if you leave…but our hearts would tell us the exact opposite. Your siblings would be devastated if you left them now. Clary would be devastated….” Magnus trailed off, searching Jace’s face for a twitch of understanding.

But Jace shook his head as if rejecting the notion, “They would get over it once they realized how much trouble I’d been all these years.”

“Jace…can I show you something? Well, ‘show’ isn’t exactly the right word, but there isn’t anything that really describes what I do, but I’ve got something that you need to experience for yourself.”

The Elemental looked extremely doubtful, but he nodded nonetheless, his trust in Magnus shocking the Psychic. Magnus kept his features schooled though, not letting him know that he ever doubted Jace’s regards towards him, and he touched two ringed fingers under the fringe on Jace’s forehead...and pushed.

He couldn’t transfer images or sounds, all he could send in to Jace’s mind was the pure raw emotion of the memory Magnus had chosen. It was working. Tears were already streaming down Jace's face, his breath coming in short gasps as if he were in physical agony. Magnus let it flow through Jace for less than a minute, abruptly pulling away all at once, the sudden break causing Jace to fall to his knees gasping for air.

Jace looked back up at him, eyes still red and full of unshed tears, “What was that? I felt like…like I was losing a part of my soul, like I was dying.”

Slowly, Magnus knelt down in front of Jace, placing a steadying hand on his trembling shoulder, “That was what Alec was feeling when he thought you were dead. It was that emotional outburst that created the wooden dome that saved all of us. If that is what Alec felt at the thought of you being gone…imagine now how he would feel if you were gone for real this time? Alive or dead, you’d be gone and I’m sure his reaction would be very similar. Would you really want to put him through that again? Isabelle too? Clary?”

Jace shook his head, his hair flying in his face, “I could never hurt them like that.”

“Then don’t run away from them.”

He gave Jace a moment to collect himself before helping him to his feet and handing him a wet towel from Alec’s bathroom to wipe his face, “Now go eat some greasy pizza. You’ll feel both better and worse at the same time!”

Jace snorted, "Sounds perfect," he said with his normal carefree tone, despite the settling turmoil in his brain. Magnus knew without asking that Jace was finally reaching the resolve to stay, the firmness solidifying in his brain as something that he knew would mean that he wouldn't have to worry about the Elemental running away any time soon. 

Magnus gently clapped him on the shoulder, "Now, go bring me some pizza before I have to start tearing through Alexander's room trying to find his stash of sweets we all know he has squirreled away in here."

Jace laughed and headed down the hall, finally leaving Magnus alone in the room.

Magnus quietly moved a chair over the Alec’s bedside, even though he was quite certain that a Brittany Spears concert in his room wouldn’t wake him at this point.

“I have to tell you, Alexander, I’m not liking this habit of yours. Can you try…I don’t know, try coming back from a mission conscious for once? The sleeping beauty thing is getting old,” Magnus joked to the sleeping man.

He didn’t even twitch.

_Sleeping beauty indeed,_ Magnus thought to himself as he let his eyes wander over the panes of Alec’s face. Was it true that this stunning creature in front of him may be having warm fuzzy feelings…about him?

He kept playing that moment over again and again in his head, the exact moment that Alec left the van, trying to grasp that feeling in his fingers so he could turn it this way and that, verifying it to be true, but it remained elusive and fleeting, familiar and yet completely unknown.

Alec cared about him, Magnus now knew that for sure. Even now he was rubbing the acorn between his fingers, the surface becoming polished with the constant worrying of his thumb. It was solid proof that Alec cared for him, wanted to protect him. So, did that mean that Alec wanted more?

What would more mean for them?

For weeks now, Magnus had wanted more. More of everything! More time with him, more attention from him, more contact from him…just…more. And now here was the physical evidence that Alec may want more too.

Everything he wanted was within his grasp, but he hesitated to reach out for it…because there was something else reverberating through his heart, the same feeling that now had cemented Jace’s feet to the floor was now causing Magnus to want to run and hide.

To care for someone so deeply…Magnus both longed for it and feared it. So many times before he had plunged his hand in to the flames thinking this time he wouldn’t be burned, that it wouldn’t hurt, but it always did. Reaching in to the fire that he and Camille had started had not only hurt, but he still was bearing the scars of that relationship, feeling the pain all the way in to his bones at the mere thought of what had happened. His heart ached with indecision. He truly wished to believe Alec would be different. He wanted to dive in to the fire one more time, his past hurts forgotten as the frenzy of new love started to simmer. He was still frozen though, and so scared of melting away the layer of ice that had protected him this long.

Alec was by far one of the most loyal people Magnus had ever met, it was probably one of the many reasons that he was drawn to the Elemental more than anyone before. Loyal people didn’t run, maybe Alec would be the one who wouldn’t leave because of his Psychic abilities?

But…he did almost leave. Today, Alec almost died…again, and he'd only known him for a few weeks. Magnus had nearly gone catatonic those few minutes when they were unsure if Alec had been killed by some stray bullet, and this was only the mere bud of a romance to grow. They lived incredibly dangerous lives, what was to keep Alec from leaving him in the middle of ‘until death do us part’? What if Magnus melted his walls and let someone in only to lose everything he’d ever dreamed of in a matter of moments?

He had felt Alec’s devastation at almost losing Jace, it had been on replay in his mind for the last few weeks, like a broken record. That pain…it both scared and fascinated Magnus. To have someone love you that much would be incredible. To be the someone who loved that much would be terrifying.

Never before had Magus fell so hard, so remarkably fast for someone and the very thought of losing it all, through abandonment or death was a fear Magnus was having trouble rationalizing in his head.

He was suffocating and yet he was yearning for closeness at the same time.

He wanted more, but at the same time it was all too much.

The door creaked open behind him, Jace and Clary stepping in to the room with pizza and smiles on their face.

“Hey, Magnus! We brought you some food!” Clary said, but Magnus was already shooting his body out of the chair and racing towards the door.

“I have to go,” he whispered desperately as he pushed through the two mutants, “I’m sorry.”

With twin looks of bafflement and concern, Clary and Jace watched as Magnus almost ran down the hallway and out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two more chapters to post for today :D I think a few of you (if not all of you) will be happy :)   
> Let me know your thoughts! I love hearing from you guys <3


	16. Warmed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wooo, another chapter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Almost done!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alec woke to a familiar ceiling above him, which was comforting and a bit discomforting at the same time. While he was glad to wake up in his new bedroom back at the house, he didn’t have a damn idea how he had gotten here. The last thing he could remember was the sounds of stunners and guns erupting around them and then blackness, and it certainly didn't happen in his bedroom. So what the hell had happened?

He only got a few more seconds of confusion in before a mass of hair flew over his face as Isabelle launched herself over his body, nearly crushing sensitive bits in the process. Holy fuck his body was sore all over! It was like he had pulled every single muscle in his body all at once. Every move caused another twinge. But other than that…he was alive.

“Alec! Estaba muy preocupado! Como te sientes?”

Alec laughed as he sat up, gently returning Izzy’s hug before pushing her back a bit to get a look at her face, “Estoy bien, I’m glad to see you’re okay too.”

“Yeah, things were looking a little hairy for a bit there, but we’re home,” she said, the words sounding bright but her eyes didn’t seem to quite match.

“Izzy, what happened? How did we get back here?” he asked, but she shook her head.

“Hold on, I’ll tell you everything but Luke and Jace wanted me to get them the second you woke up, I think they’re in the computer lab with Simon. I’ll be right back!” and she dashed off, leaving Alec alone. Very alone.

Where was Magnus?

* * *

 

_In…peace…Out…peace…In…peace…Out…peace…_

… _of shit._

Magnus growled and threw himself back on to the grass mat of the meditation room, arms flung out to the side like a squashed fly. No matter how hard he tried, he could not find any of the peace he normally felt as he meditated. Every time he got close to his favored oblivion, something…or really someone, would pop in to his mind.

He was hoping that by emptying his mind for a few minutes at least would allow him to reboot himself, the goal being for his to make up his freaking mind about what he wanted! It hadn’t worked and for the life of him, Magnus was at a loss of what to do.

Guilt was eating him up from the inside. He knew Alec had been awake now for a few hours, knew it because while he wanted to think of anything but the man he still couldn’t turn his emotional doppler away from that bedroom. It was like his own mutation was refusing to allow Magnus to let Alec go, and the betrayal was incredibly rude. Well…it’s not like Magnus wasn’t being rude himself, not even going to check up on the Elemental since he had run from the room the night before.

The truth was, Magnus wanted to go. He wanted to run in there and tell Alec how worried he’d been, how happy he was that he was okay, to kiss him senseless, but he just couldn’t move. Those carefully constructed walls that he had been slowly building since the first person who had hurt him were still there, though now cracked and crumbling thanks to a certain plant Elemental. Like an injured cat, he’d rather hide under a porch and whither away rather than leave the safety of the small space he had established for himself.

Magnus sighed and sat up, his sad eyes fixed on the window before him as he admired the forest. Damn trees reminded him of Alec too. The universe was conspiring against him.

He heard the door click behind him and sighed, “Biscuit, your concern is sweet, but please just let me be a miserable old man on my own for once,” he said without turning around. He could feel a twinge of amusement amongst the overwhelming concern, and was about to turn to tell Clary to leave again, but the voice that rang out in the room was one hundred percent male, most definitely not Clary.

“Miserable old man? Magnus, aren’t you like…in your late twenties or something?”

Magnus whipped around, his gaze falling on Alexander as he stopped to pull off his shoes before entering the room. He looked…soft. And warm. Gone was the agents uniform and heavy boots. Alec was dressed in simple jeans and one of his more baggy sweaters, his hair in complete disarray like he had just rolled out of bed and forgot to check the mirror…which was probably true if he knew Alec well enough at this point. He moved slowly though, the post-stunner muscle cramps still in full effect, and it made Magnus want to roll him in a blanket and put him back to bed.

Alec made his way over, sitting on one of the other pillows next to Magnus and leaning back on his arms, his own gaze on the forest. He let out a content sigh and fell silent, not really waiting for Magnus to answer his question, just relaxing.

Magnus’ eyes fell to his hands in his lap, frantically trying to think of what to say. Surely Alec would be upset he hadn’t been there when he woke up. He didn’t look or feel upset though. Magnus prodded at Alec’s aura, getting concern, a bit of confusion, a bit of fondness…and that same thing that Magnus had felt from him back at the van. That thing he was afraid to put a name to.

“How are you feeling,” Magnus asked quietly.

Alec glanced over at him, “Sore, a bit embarrassed, but good.”

Magnus frowned, “Embarrassed?”

“I got knocked out. Again. Izzy said Luke and Jace had to carry me out,” Alec said, his body shuddering at the thought.

“Alec, you got hit by three stunner blasts, you’re lucky to be alive after that. That much shock can send most into cardiac arrest,” Magnus said, his words scolding.

Alec shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal, and it made Magnus mad. Angry maybe. No, he was pissed.

He shot to his feet, glaring down at a stunned Alec, “Don’t act to casual about it! You almost died, again! For fifteen minutes I was convinced that they had...that you were…Do you have any idea what that does to the people around you? Do you know how devastating that would have been for Isabelle and Jace? You love them and care for them so much, what happens when that’s gone? What’s left for them? You can’t just walk around saying and doing the things you do, and then just disappear.”

“Magnus—”

“No!” Magnus shouted, tears welling in his eyes, “You say you care, but how can you act so recklessly when there are people who you would destroy if you left them behind!”

Alec got to his feet, his eyes sorrowful and oh so warm, “Magnus, I—”

“You can’t leave, not when I’m starting to feel again. I’m so tired of being numb,” Magnus cried, feeling as the tears finally started to fall down his cheeks in warm drops. He closed his eyes and felt two strong hands grip his arms tightly and pulled Magnus forward into a warm covetous embrace. Magnus felt Alec’s arms wrap around his torso, one hand gripping the back of his neck while the other pinned the Psychic to him. He could feel Alec’s chin and nose bury in to his neck, and he could hear Alec whispering in to his ear as he cried.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

And just like that…the walls crumbled.

Magnus pulled back, his eyes meeting Alec’s and seeing the intensity in them. It was beautiful. It was everything he had ever wanted, and all he had to do was reach out and take it.

Alec’s hand was still on the nape of his neck, his thumb running along his hairline. Magnus let his hands trail up from Alec’s waist, slid over the hard chest and up to cup both sides of that beautiful face. He pulled him in for a searing kiss that Alexander eagerly dove in to, their lips crashing together for the first time. It was warm, and sweet, and everything he dreamed it could be and more.

He could feel Alec’s hands grip in to his shirt like he was afraid Magnus would pull away, the strong feeling of his fingers digging in sending chills up his spine. Magnus let his own hands go from Alec’s face to around his neck, trapping him there.

He would do everything in his power to keep Alec with him as long as time would allow.

“You’ll be mine?” Magnus gasped out the question as they finally broke apart to take a breath, their foreheads resting against each other.

Alec nodded and smiled as he gulped in air, “As long as you want me. Does that make you mine too?”

Magnus breathed out a chuckle and sighed, “I think in some way I’ve always been yours. It’s just taken me far too long for me to find you.”

“I’m here now.”

Yes, he was here and Magnus was overwhelmed as he felt the encompassing loneliness that had darkened his life for so long lift a little, like the sun creeping from behind the clouds after an early morning rain. That feeling was radiating off of Alec, so warm and inviting. Magnus basked in it.

“Finally,” Magnus whispered, making Alec chuckle.

“Yeah, you sure took your sweet time coming to get us. Although, we were hidden pretty well. I mean, I don’t know about your tastes much, but I would assume wouldn’t go looking for your future boyfriend in a cardboard box in an alley. Or in a building mostly inhabited by prostitutes,” Alec joked as he gently pulled Magnus down to the floor, placing the Psychic between his legs and letting him lean back against his solid chest. The sun was setting, casting the room in a golden glow that lit up their skin, making them both look ethereal to each other, both of them thinking just how incredibly lucky they were to have found someone so beautiful and so special.

Magnus laughed, “How about we people ask us how we met we just say ‘at a flower shop’. That’s bound to bring up far fewer inquiries. Although, I do believe I will tell them how I had you in my arms within minutes. You were so easy, Alexander.”

“Magnus, I was unconscious.”

“Leave that part out, Dear. Don’t want it to sound too scandalous. Think of the children.”

Alec chuckled, “Already planning on kids?”

“Nah, just referring to Simon and Clary. Very impressionable. Don’t give them an inch, they’ll take a mile. Troublemakers, the both of them.”

Alec nodded, his face full of mock seriousness, “Then I guess we’ll have our hands full. You’re forgetting Jace and Izzy.”

Magnus gasped dramatically, a hand on his chest, “I had forgotten! They’ve outnumbered us, what ever will we do?”

Alec seemed to think it over for a moment before replying, “Ask Luke to babysit while you take me on a date.”

Magnus snorted and nodded his head against Alec’s chest, “Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, freaking finally! (I say as if it wasn't my fault it took this damn long) took 80,000 damn words to finally get here. holy hell.


	17. Remembering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter you guys!!!! Thanks for sticking with me this long! :D

A few days had passed since the team had all returned home, Luke giving them all a few days off to recover from that disastrous mission before they all dove back in to their responsibilities. He could see how each of them were in some way hunted by what had occurred in such a short period of time, and Luke just wanted to see these young people look their age for once, and not drawn, tired and burdened.

Jace had been sheepish for the first day or two, as if expecting for everyone to suddenly change their minds on his permanence in the house, but he finally started to come around again after Simon had extended an olive branch in the form of a game controller, asking if Jace wanted to play some video games. This of course had lead to some alarmingly competitive rounds of Mario Kart, but Luke was just happy to see everyone getting along. Even if it resulted in him having to referee a few games.

Alec had asking Jace about Valentine as gently as he could, wanting to know if Jace had been hurt during his visit and if he could help, but Jace had shrugged it off. He said he hadn’t been touched and would be fine, but Alec knew thanks to Magnus that Jace’s nightmares were back, the ones that had plagued him for years after they had run from the facility. The Psychic could feel the night terrors through the walls while they all slept, and quickly informed the person who would best know what to do.

So, four nights after they had returned, Alec woke to knocking outside his bedroom door.

“Come in,” he called sleepily.

Magnus poked his head in, face and hair devoid of all product and the sight made Alec smile fondly. He loved that face. While they had been almost inseparable the last few days, they were still working up to sharing a bed again, Magnus insisting he wanted to take things slow as to not scare Alec off. A ridiculous notion, Alec had thought to himself, but agreed not to push too hard too fast. Besides, sharing a bed with your boyfriend held a lot more expectations to it than the platonic sharing he’d had before. Expectations that Alec admitted to himself he was not entirely prepared for.

“It’s happening again,” Magnus whispered as he crept forward to sit on the edge of Alec’s bed, “Are you going to go talk to him?”

Slowly, Alec sat up and ran a hand over his face as if trying to rub away the sleep, “Yeah, I’m going, just trying to remember what year it is first.”

Magnus chuckled, “Okay, good luck and let me know if you need something,” he said and stood to leave, but stopped when he felt Alec grab his wrist and gently tugging him back to the bed.

“Hold up, I do need something before you go,” he said, pulling Magnus down for a deep kiss that pulled a moan out of the Psychic right before Alec pulled back with a satisfied smile.

“Okay, I’m good now, you can head back to bed.”

With a roll of his eyes, Magnus got up again, this time with Alec behind him.

“As if I’ll be able to go back to sleep after that. Nevermind that my boyfriend is about to sneak in to another man’s bedroom. What on earth did I get myself in to?”

Alec chuckled and gently pushed him back towards his own room, “I’ll keep my hands to myself, I promise. Go back to bed.”

Once Magnus’ door was finally closed, Alec drew in a deep breath and walked to the door to the left of his own, knocking softy and calling out, “Jace?”

No answer.

Alec pressed his ear up against the door and heard distressed sounds from inside. Careful not to make too much noise, he slowly opened the door and peeked inside to see Jace tangled in his sheets, sweat covering his body in a glistening sheen where his sleep pants didn’t cover. Soft whimpers and cries were escaping him, each noise making Alec’s heart pang in sympathy, almost like he could feel the same pain echoing in his soul.

“Jace,” he called softly as he moved towards the bed.

The blond didn’t hear him, still trapped in whatever nightmare had it’s claws in him. More determined, Alec sat on the edge and reached out a hand to grab a shoulder, shaking it while calling out, “Hey, wake up. It’s just a bad dream, you’re safe. We’re all safe…” he kept shaking until finally Jace sprung up with a gasp, eyes falling on his brother next to him.

“Alec?”

“Yeah, I wanted to check on you. Seems you were having a bad dream…are they the same ones as before?” Alec asked hesitantly. The dreams from before were something they hadn’t talked about for a long time. They were the worst right after Max had died, the guilt becoming the monster in Jace’s head at night.

Jace nodded, trying to hold back tears, “I don’t know why they’re coming back.”

“Maybe it was being around Valentine again. It would make sense and be understandable. Hell, I half expected you to come back as damaged as when I first met you in the facility,” Alec offered, but Jace shook his head.

“Seeing Valentine was painful, but I think I’ve become stronger since we last saw him. We were just kids, it was easy for me to think of him as this evil giant demon for all these years, but seeing him now as an adult…he seems so much smaller than I remember, and I know he’s just a man. Twisted and smart, but just a man. I think I’m less scared of him now than I’ve ever been knowing I have not only you and Iz, but the others too all backing me up. It’s something Valentine never had, true loyalty and friends. So no, I don’t think he’s causing me to have these nightmares,” Jace said as he rubbed his hands up and down his bare arms as if cold, “I just can’t get Max out of my head.”

Alec frowned, “I know what you mean. Remember how I told you about the stasis pods? I saw a kid in one of them…I swear he looked so much like Max. Any time I close my eyes I can’t seem to get the image out of my head. Being there…it must have triggered something in us, maybe?”

Jace snorted, “And here I thought you’d be fantasizing about Magnus.”

He laughed harder when he saw Alec’s less than impressed look.

“And to think I got out of bed to comfort your ungrateful ass,” Alec said as he flopped back on the bed, his head falling on Jace’s lap.

Jace chuckled and fall back on his pillows, both brothers staring up at the dark ceiling lost in their memories of the youngest Lightwood. Not a day went by that Alec didn’t miss Max, or think about what he would be doing if he were still alive.

“Does Magnus know you’re in here? I’d hate to make him jealous,” Jace said. It was too dark for Alec to see his face, but he knew there would be a smirk on it.

“He knows. It’s an unspoken promise that I’d tie you up with vines if you tried anything.”

“Kinky.”

Alec snorted, “Shut up. And close your eyes and go to sleep so I can go back to my own bed.”

“As you wish, my little shrubbery.”

* * *

 

She couldn’t sleep. Three nights now and she had yet to catch a wink. It was only her Feral capabilities that allowed her to function normally enough for no one to notice, and her make-up skills to hide the dark marks growing under her eyes.

That scent…the one she smelled on Alec back in the cell, she couldn’t get if off her mind! She spent every moment alone trying to puzzle through where she could possibly remember it from, but nothing came up as a match.

She prided herself on being able to identify where Alec had walked that day based off of the smell of his shoes, but she couldn’t place this single scent!

The dojo was the best place for her to work off her frustrations, away from the other’s rooms where they were all asleep. For hours now she had been working over some poor punching bag, doing everything she could to think about nothing but kick, punch, kick, kick, punch…it was working a bit, but she was so tired. No sleep on top of working her body to the limits was just too much.

She slammed the bag one last time before falling to her knees, gasping for air and dripping of sweat.

“Having trouble sleeping?”

She whirled around, shocked to see Luke entering the dojo.

“Luke, I didn’t hear you coming,” she said.

Luke nodded and walked over to where she was and sat down next to her, “It’s not like you not to hear someone coming. It’s usually one of the perks of being a Feral. For one of our kind to have someone sneak up on them like that, it can only mean that something is bothering you quite a bit. Do you want to talk about it?”

Isabelle ducked her head down, a little ashamed to have let anything bother her enough to distract her. Luke being her mentor just made it more embarrassing.

“I can’t sleep. I caught a scent off of Alec when we were running from Valentine’s men, and I can’t think of anything else anymore. It’s driving me crazy, like I know I should be able to identify any scent that is familiar to me in seconds, but this one…this one doesn’t make any sense,” she said bitterly.

“Doesn’t make sense how?”

“It smells wrong. Not like it’s bad, but more like it doesn’t belong, like it shouldn’t exist.”

Luke’s eyebrows rose up, “Now that does sound strange. If you don’t know what it is, how can you tell it shouldn’t exist?”

Izzy shrugged as she stared off, biting her bottom lip as she thought about it, “I don’t know.”

Luke hummed to himself, “I’ve heard of studies done saying that scent has the best memory of all the senses, that you can smell something you haven’t smelled since childhood and you’ll remember exactly where you were, the sights and sounds around you…why don’t you try recreating the smell in your head and see where it takes you to?”

It sounded weird to her, but she’d try anything to identify it at this point, so she closed her eyes and thought back to the moment she ran up to Alec, the moment she first caught the smell on his shirt.

It didn’t smell wrong there, like it was once normal for that scent to cling to her brother. But why?

She breathed in…

_She was in the facility again, she could feel the hospital gown on her skin, her bare feet on the tiled floor beneath her as she walked down a hallway. She could hear the buzz of the cheap fluorescent lights above her, and smell the antiseptic cleaner they used that had made her nose tickle for years. This place was never completely quiet, always a machine humming, a child crying or a nurse talking. Sometimes Isabelle wished she could rip off her own ears, tired of being unable to completely shut out this world._

_She remembered feeling a shimmer of happiness and excitement as she crept past the nurses’ station, heading towards their secret little place that no one knew about. They’d be there waiting for her._

_She found the spot and looked and listened down each direction of the hallway before bending down to pull away the grate from the wall, crawling in and pulling it back up behind her._

_She remembered the cold and dusty metal scraping against her knees as she crawled forward. She remembered counting the grates as she continued on. One….two…three…four…five._

_The sixth one she stopped and pushed open the grate and dropped down, seeing the smiling faces of a younger Alec and Jace where they sat on the floor together reading a comic book, the pages splayed out over both of their laps, their heads almost touching in the effort to reach it at the same time. She smiled back at them._

_Then she felt something crash in to her legs and she looked down with a fond smile as her little brother looked back up at her, his brown eyes twinkling._

_Max…_

Izzy’s eyes shot open, “Oh my god, Max!”

* * *

 

Simon groaned and rubbed his bleary eyes, both of them sore from hours of looking at the computer screen. He’d been sifting through the database for what felt like years, but really it had just been the last nine hours. No biggie, Simon had video game campaigns longer than that many times. Five mountain dews and some Cheetos and he’d be good to go for another five.

Unfortunately, this was nowhere near as entertaining.

He was starting to finally collect a few promising leads on missions for them, now having a large folder of patient histories to choose from. It wasn’t perfect, but he was probably a few weeks away from a good search engine and this would just have to do until then.

_Two more links and then I’m calling it a night,_ he promised himself.

The next link he pulled up was a list of the registered nurses, not useful at the moment but you never know when something like that could come in handy, so Simon filed that away.

_One more…_

It was a patient profile, he noted and smiled brightly when a young and very familiar face popped up.

“Hey, it’s Clary” he said to himself, giggling fondly as he took in just how many freckles she used to have. He was about to file it away to show her tomorrow when something caught his eye. He read the little note twice. Then twice again before he collapsed back against his chair, hands moving in to his hair to tug on the curls.

“Oh fuck, you’ve got to be kidding me!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew! Story two, done! Thank you all for reaching the finish line with me on this, the support has been incredible. It's been helping to fuel me in to pumping out multiple chapters a week!!!
> 
> Next up is our third installment, "Find Me in the Shadows". I'm very excited about this one, a happy mix of fluff, drama, angst, and growth. Not to mention two favorite characters making their debut! 
> 
> Remember, first post of the third story won't be until next Friday, but feel free to subscribe to the series if you are worried about missing the first post. See you then!
> 
> Little spoilers for the next story if you wanna read these:  
> -Alec's first lesson with his mentor  
> -Luke's history revealed  
> -Clary and Jace getting closer  
> -Malec fluff  
> -Angry acorns  
> -So many obvious hints that the author is from the north and has a thing for trees

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter will be up on Friday! Please comment so I can know what you guys think so far :)


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